February 24, 2004
Five in double figures as Grove City advances
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Five Grove City players scored in double figures Tuesday night as the Wolverines advanced to the Presidents' Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship Tournament semifinals with a 71-61 win over Washington and Jefferson at the Grove City College Arena.
Third-seeded Grove City (14-12) will now play at No. 2 seed Bethany Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in the semifinals. Washington and Jefferson, the No. 6 seed, concludes its season at 7-19.
Grove City out-scored the Presidents 12-5 down the stretch to secure the win. Junior forward Ryan Eller (Erie, Pa./Iroquois) led Grove City with 16 points while senior forward Tanner Prosser (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) added 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Also for Grove City, junior guard J.D. Collar (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) fired in 14 points, including 4-for-4 accuracy on three-point goals. Sophomore Matt Phillips (Bainbridge, Ohio/Kenston) chipped in 11 points, 10 boards and five assists while sophomore forward Chuck Cotherman (Knox, Pa./Keystone) came off the bench to score 10 points.
Grove City closed the first half with a 9-2 run as Phillips, Eller and Collar all hit three-pointers in the final 1:57 to give Grove City a 33-30 halftime lead. The Wolverines made eight of 12 first-half three-point attempts and finished the game 12-of-21 (57 percent) beyond the arc.
Washington and Jefferson led by as many as four in the second half but a three from Prosser with 8:15 left put Grove City up for good, 57-56.
Brandon Studer led Washington and Jefferson with a game-high 25 points, including six three-pointers. Each team had 37 rebounds, 13 assists, 11 turnovers and both squads were 5-of-7 at the foul line.
Eller moved into 12th place on Grove City single-season scoring list as he now has 410 points. Prosser upped his career point total to 1,249, just six points behind fifth-place Mark Timko (1991-94).
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