RIPON, Wis. - Attaining victories on Ripon College's court has proved to be a difficult task for opponents - Grinnell College included.
But the Pioneer men's basketball team bucked that trend Saturday afternoon, winning for just the second time in its past 10 meetings on the Red Hawks' floor with a 104-95 decision.
Behind Zach Rosen's '26 career-high 22 points, Grinnell got off to a 4-0 start in Midwest Conference play for the second time in three years. The Pioneers will go into winter break unbeaten in league play for the third season in a row.
The nine-point margin of victory is the largest for Grinnell at Ripon since a 117-108 victory in 2015.
The Pioneers used a late run in the first half to open a 16-point lead, and then held off a second-half charge by the hosts to win for just the second time at Ripon since 2016.
A 17-5 run late in the first half propelled the Pioneers to a 65-51 lead at intermission. Sean Murphy '26 began the spurt with a 3-pointer and Luka Pinto '29 got a layup for a 53-44 lead. The teams played on even terms for a bit after that, with Ripon sinking five free throws and Grinnell getting a trey from Zach Rosen '26 and a layup and free throw by Tyler Copes '29 to make it 59-49 with 2:28 left in the half.
Gabe Garcia '27 followed with a 3-pointer for Grinnell, Carson DeBruhl '27 hit a layup and Rosen delivered a free throw to push the Pioneers ahead 65-49.
Ripon refused to go away, though, cutting the margin to two points twice midway through the second half. After the Red Hawks pulled within 84-82, Tanner Deal '27 swished a huge 3-pointer and Garcia added a layup to give Grinnell some breathing room at 89-82 with 6:14 left.
Murphy later hit a layup and Nick Courtney '26 sank a free throw as the Pioneers continued to pull away. The hosts never got closer than five the rest of the way.
Rosen's 22-point performance included a 5-of-6 performance from 3-point land. Also in double digits were Garcia with 13, Deal with a career-best 12 and Murphy with 11.
Copes and Strahinja Nikolic '27 each grabbed six rebounds and Rosen and Courtney had five each. Garcia dished out seven assists, Copes posted two blocks and Sean Walser '26, Kingzten Bristol '29 and Rosen tallied three steals each.
After a bit of a break, Grinnell heads to California for a two-game stint that includes a game at the University of La Verne on Jan. 3 and a contest at Occidental College on Jan. 5.