GRINNELL, Iowa – The Macalester College men's basketball team experienced the chaos that is Grinnell College basketball, losing 133-90 Saturday afternoon at Darby Gym. The Pioneers, who play a high-pressure style on defense and a quick-to-shoot style on offense, improve to 4-2, while the Scots drop to 1-6. Junior guard Eric Wentz (Minot, N.D./Minot) registered career highs of 40 points and 14 rebounds to lead Macalester.

The Scots tallied the first six points of the game on baskets by Wentz and junior forward Ryan Brush (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue) and a pair of free throws from junior forward Noah Shannon (Northfield, Ill./New Trier), only to have Grinnell answer with 11 straight points. The lead was fur, 28-24 following a three from Wentz when the Pioneers took a double-digit lead with an 8-0 run that made the score 36-24 midway through the first half. The lead grew to as many as 17 before Macalester used a 10-3 run to end the half trailing 61-51 at the break. Wentz, whose previous career high was 22 points, tallied 24 points and 11 rebounds while making 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the first half alone.

With the lead still at 10, 67-57 early in the first half, Grinnell forced eight Scots' turnovers in a whirlwind 24-0 run that put the game out of reach, 91-57 with 14 minutes still to play. Macalester never came closer than 29 the rest of the way, as the Pioneers' last six field goals in the final five minutes of the game were three-pointers.

Wentz was 13-of-19 from the field, including 5-of-7 from three-point range, en route to 40 points. First year guard JP Kerrigan (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) was the only other Scot in double figures with a career-high 16 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists. Shannon finished with eight points, seven rebounds and two steals. Kai Te Huki scored 28 points to pace Grinnell.

Macalester plays another non-conference game at home on Tuesday, Nov. 26 against UW-Stout. The game starts at 7:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.