APPLETON, Wis. -- Nate Zimmerman's putback with 3.8 seconds left Friday lifted the Carroll College men's basketball team to a 124-122 victory over Grinnell College in the semifinals of the Midwest Conference Tournament at Alexander Gymnasium.
Carroll (15-8) advances to play the winner of the Lawrence University-St. Norbert College game later Friday night.
John Hoch scored 34 points and handed out 13 assists to pace Carroll, which had seven players in double figures. John Grotberg scored a game-high 36 points for Grinnell (16-8). Bobby Long added 27 points, and David Arseneault had 17 points and 12 assists for Grinnell.
The game featured 17 ties and the largest lead by either team was Carroll's seven-point advantage in the second half.
Hoch hit a pair of free throws to put Carroll up 117-113 with 1:48 left, but Arseneault countered with two free throws for Grinnell. Zimmerman hit two more free throws for Carroll before Keith Chamberlain's layup with 38 seconds left cut the Carroll's lead to 119-117.
After Jeremy Bohn made two free throws for Carroll, Arseneault drained a 3-pointer with 32 ticks remaining. Bohn then converted 1 of 2 from the line to give Carroll a 122-120 edge with 27 seconds left, but Chamberlain's layup with 16 seconds left tied it at 122-122.
Hoch drove down the lane and missed a layup, but Zimmerman was there for the putback with 3.8 seconds left to put Carroll up 124-122. Arseneault raced up the floor for Grinnell, but he wasn't able to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded.