February 26, 2004
Bethany holds off Grove City in PAC Tournament
BETHANY, W. Va. -- Five Grove City players scored in double figures but the No. 3 seed Wolverines could not complete a second-half comeback at Bethany Thursday night in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals, falling 78-71 at Hummel Field House.
Second-seeded Bethany (18-8) advances to Saturday's conference final at Westminster. Grove City finishes 14-13, giving the Wolverines their fourth consecutive winning season.
Senior forward Tanner Prosser (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) led Grove City with a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double in his final collegiate game. Prosser closes his career with 1,263 points, the fifth-highest total in Grove City history.
Junior forward Ryan Eller (Erie, Pa./Iroquois) added 14 points while sophomore forward Chuck Cotherman (Knox, Pa./Keystone) fired in a dozen points. Sophomore swingman Matt Phillips (Bainbridge, Ohio/Kenston) added 11 points while freshman guard Bobby Glass (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) added 10 points, including two threes.
Grove City fell behind 34-15 in the first half but eventually whittled the lead down to 11, 45-34, by halftime. Grove City eventually tied the game at 66 with less than four minutes left but Bethany guard Jim Deep gave the Bison the lead for good with a three-pointer from the left corner. Moments later, Deep extended the lead to five with a lay-up.
Deep led all scorers with 18 points while forward James Wallace came off the bench to score 15 for the Bison.
Prosser leaves as Grove City's all-time leader in assists with 367 and his 801 rebounds are the most for any Grove City player since 1970. Eller finished the season with 424 points, the 11th-highest single-season total in Grove City history.
GROVE CITY'S 1,000-POINT CLUB
1-Jeff Claypool (1965-69)
2,234
2-Bob Crow (1979-83) 1,450
3-Joe Buckley (1985-89) 1,413
4-John Cochran (1966-70) 1,352
5-TANNER PROSSER (1999-2003) 1,263
6-Mark Timko (1991-94) 1,255
7-Fred Schwab (1970-74) 1,215
8-Deron Ryan (1984-88) 1,205
9-Tim Mokma (1987-91) 1,197
10-Bill Fox (1975-79) 1,192
11-Tom Robinson (1957-62) 1,181
12-Mark Smith (1979-83) 1,171
13-Jim Wherley (1993-97) 1,162
14-Bart Niemeyer (1958-62) 1,145
15-Benjamin Davis (1990-94) 1,094
16-Dave Marovich (1962-65) 1,072
17-Ron Arrington (1962-66) 1,069
18-Mike Donahoe (1975-79) 1,051
19-Dan Von Handorf (1992-96) 1,029
20-Dutch Leonard (1955-59) 1,013
Go back to Wolverine Basketball Home Page