The Beloit College men's basketball team dropped a thrilling, fast-paced game to Grinnell Tuesday evening in Flood Arena. The Buccaneers were outscored late in the game en route to a 107-94 loss.
Michael Polakoski flipped the script on Grinnell Tuesday. The Pioneers, known for their three-point heavy offense, found themselves trailing as Polakoski bolstered Beloit's offense hitting his first seven shots from downtown including four in the first half. The freshman shooting guard really got going passed the halfway point in the period. With the score knotted 34-34, Polakoski drained a three off an assist by
Mason Jones to give the Bucs the lead with 6:37 on the clock. Just over 30 seconds later, Polakoski swiped a Pioneer ball-handler and was rewarded on the offensive end after Shoup found him outside the arc for a second triple to make it 40-34. He made Grinnell pay for another miscue with his third consecutive longball, this time
Andrew Walters tallied the assist, to cap the 9-0
The pair flipped roles the next time down the floor as Polakoski hauled in the defensive board, pushed the pace and found Walters for the fastbreak layup to put the finishing touches on an 11-0 Beloit run that saw the Bucs take a 45-34 lead with 4:43 left in the first half.
Grinnell's offense resurfaced in the final four minutes of the half as the Pioneers hit a buzzer-beater from beyond the arc to head into intermission with the scoreboard reading 51-48 in favor of Beloit.
Polakoski went on another run early in the second half hitting a jumper followed by back-to-back three's. Walters capitalized with two free throws to cap the run and push the lead back into double figures, 67-56, with just over 16 minutes to go. The Bucs maintained the lead until under the 11-minute mark when a 9-0 Pioneer run gave Grinnell a 76-72 advantage. The teams battled as the score was tied up on seven occasions over the next nearly six minutes, the final time at 91-91 with 5:34 remaining.
A pair of triples, a jumper and a free throw quickly swayed the momentum into Grinnell's favor as the Bucs' offense went cold late leading to the final.
Polakoski led Beloit with 29 points bolstered by a 7-9 performance from three-point range. Hitting 77.8 percent of his three-point attempts, Polakoski is tied for second for three-point percentage in a game in the program record book. His seven triples also goes down in program history as tied for the third-most recorded by a Buccaneer in a game. Polakoski was 11-16 from teh field adding six rebounds, four assists and a steal in the game.
Tristan Shoup added 14 points while
Mylan Walters chipped in 13.
Andrew Walters notched another double-double, his seventh of the season, with 13 points and 17 rebounds. He has registered double digit rebounds in 14 games this season.
Beloit will wrap up the 2019-20 season against Cornell Saturday in Flood Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Buccaneer seniors will be recognized prior to the game.
