MONMOUTH, Ill. - On a record-breaking night, the Grinnell College men's basketball team advanced one step closer to earning a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The second-seeded Pioneers worked past No. 3 seed Illinois College 86-81 in the Midwest Conference Tournament semifinal round Friday at Monmouth College's gym. That puts Grinnell into Saturday's 3 p.m. title game, with that winner advancing to the NCAAs.

Grinnell tied the school record for victories with the win, improving to 19-7. Jackson Leone '25 had three steals for the Pioneers to boost his season total to 88, breaking the school record of 87 set by Doug Ticus in the 2006-07 campaign. The Pioneers also set a school record for rebounds in a season with 1,186.

Harris Dar '28 scored 18 points for the Pioneers, Kai Te Huki '27 scored 15 and Gabe Garcia '27 tallied 12. Leone grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and his steals total of three was matched by Te Huki. Garcia dished out seven assists.

Illinois College, which finished 17-9, grabbed a 44-43 halftime lead before Grinnell used a quick start in the second half to take the lead for good at 50-48 on a trey by Sean Murphy '27. The Pioneers later led 63-57 before going on a 12-2 run that included a layup by Te Huki, bucket by Garcia, treys by Jordan Lee '27 and Te Huki and two free throws by Te Huki for a 75-59 lead with 8:04 left.

Illinois College made a late run, but the Pioneers held off the charge to advance to the title game for the second year in a row.

During the game, Garcia rose to 14th for career free throws at Grinnell with 283 and Te Huki moved to 19th in scoring with 1,249 points. Garcia has 148 made free throws this season, 11th all-time. On the team season chart, the Pioneers moved up to third for free throws (541), fourth in field goals (986), sixth in points (2,905), eighth in assists (508) and 15th in blocked shots (80).

Grinnell will play fourth-seeded Lake Forest College for the title, after the Foresters snuck past top seed and host Monmouth 81-79.