After falling behind in the first half, the Grinnell College men's basketball team made several strong charges but could never gain control as Lake Forest College posted a 96-88 victory Saturday afternoon at Darby Gymnasium.

The Pioneers, playing without injured all-conference performers Keith Chamberlain '08 and David Arseneault '09, lost for the first time in Midwest Conference play and are 3-1 in the league standings and 8-3 overall. Lake Forest improved to 2-2 and 6-5.

Grinnell led by as many as five in the early going when a jumper by P.J. Mahaffey '11 made it 8-3. With Grinnell still leading 29-25 following a 3-pointer by Bobby Long '09, Lake Forest countered with a 12-point run for a 37-29 lead with 7:25 left in the first half.

Lake Forest, which shot 82.8 percent from the field in the first half thanks to several close-range baskets, went up by as many as 16 when a layup by Hoyt Rees made it 57-41. But the hosts responded and trailed just 60-49 at halftime.

The visitors were still ahead by eight when the Pioneers turned up their pressure defense to saw into the gap with the aid of some turnovers. A five-point run that included two free throws by John Grotberg '09 and a trey by Grotberg brought Grinnell within 66-63 with 13:59 to go in the game. The Pioneers got as close as 68-66 a bit later on a 3-pointer by Long, but Lake Forest came up with a key six-point run to make it 74-66 with 11:07 left.

Grinnell hung close, though, as a trey by Long made it 76-73 with 9:14 to go. Twice the Pioneers came within four, the last at 78-74 on a free throw by Alex McDonald '11. But just as their women counterparts did in the game prior to this one, Lake Forest went on a huge run - this being a 13-1 spurt - to pull away for the win.

Long and Grotberg each scored 23 points for Grinnell, while Mahaffey tallied 12. Long also had six rebounds, three steals and four assists. Laird Walker led Lake Forest with 28 points.

Grinnell's next two games are on the road, as the Pioneers play at Lawrence University at 7:30 p.m. next Friday and Beloit College at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Pioneers' next home games are Jan. 25 and 26 against Ripon College and Lawrence, respectively.
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