GRINNELL, Iowa -- The No. 25 Lawrence University men's basketball team won its second consecutive Midwest Conference Tournament title with an impressive 88-69 victory over Grinnell College on Saturday.
Lawrence receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The pairings will be announced Monday.
Senior forward Chris Page had a monster game to pace Lawrence (19-6) as he posted a double-double with game highs of 27 points and 19 rebounds. John Dekker added 23 points, and Ryan Kroeger had 18 for the Vikings.
John Grotberg, the nation's leading scorer, finished with 21 points, 10 below his average, to lead Grinnell. Bobby Long added 19 points for the Pioneers.
Lawrence, winners of nine straight, have now won 10 consecutive MWC Tournament games. This is Lawrence's fifth MWC Tournament title in six years and sixth overall. No team in the league was won more conference tournaments (1997, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009) than the Vikings.
This also marks the first time Lawrence has won the conference tournament somewhere other than Alexander Gymnasium. This also marks the third consecutive time Grinnell (18-7) has hosted the tournament and hasn't won the title.
Grinnell, whose only lead was 3-2, kept the Vikings close throughout most of the first half. Lawrence led 28-26 with 3:44 left in the first half when the Vikings pulled away.
Lawrence went on an 17-4 run to end the half and led 45-30 at the break. Page had seven points in that run, and Jayce Apelgren scored six of his nine points during that stretch.
The Vikings quickly built the lead to 19 points early in the second half, but Grinnell battled back. The Pioneers cut the lead to 10 points three times, the last on Long's layup with 6:16 remaining.
Lawrence took control from that point, going on a 13-3 run over the next 3:04 to take an 85-65 lead with 3:12 left. Kroeger and Doug Kadison scored four points apiece during that stretch.
The Vikings shot only 56.8 percent from the floor, but Lawrence hit on 46 of 58 free-throw attempts. That is the second-highest game totals for free throws attempted and made in school history. The records of 48 made and 60 attempts were both set against Grinnell on Jan. 13, 2001.
Lawrence played great defense on the perimeter and limited the Pioneers to only 27.6 percent shooting (21-76), including 23.6 percent from beyond the arc (13-55). The 69 points was Grinnell's lowest offensive output of the season. Carroll University had held the Pioneers to 83 points back on Jan. 24.