February 17, 2007
Wolverines hit century mark on Senior Day
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Senior forward Mark Smith (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) fired in a career-high 24 points in his final regular season home game Saturday afternoon, helping lift the Grove City College men's basketball team to a 101-65 win over Thomas More in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at the Grove City College Arena.
Smith tied a school record by going 5-for-5 on three-point attempts. As a team, Grove City shot 68 percent (13 of 19) behind the three-point line. Overall, the Wolverines (13-12, 6-6 PAC) shot 60 percent (31 of 52) from the floor. Grove City also committed just nine turnovers.
Junior guard Joe Capotosta (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) fired in 14 points, including 4-for-4 accuracy on three-pointers while senior center Craig Hallman (Ellwood City, Pa./Riverside) added 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds. All 13 Wolverine players scored in the victory. Smith and Hallman combined to score Grove City's first 12 points of the game.
Grove City asserted control with a 28-8 run in the first half. Smith drilled three threes during the blitz while junior guard Ryan Gerber (Baltic, Ohio/Garaway) sealed the run with a lay-up. In the second half, Grove City shot 65 percent (17 of 26) from the floor, including 8-for-13 accuracy on three-pointers.
Sophomore Ryan Gibson (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) dished out five assists while Gerber had four assists.
Grove City owned a 39-29 edge on the glass and limited the Saints (3-22, 3-9 PAC) to just nine total field goals in each half. Thomas More shot 18 of 55 (33 percent) for the game.
It is Grove City's largest margin of victory since a 90-53 win over Centenary (N.J.) Jan. 6, 2001. Steve Carlson went 5-for-5 on three-point attempts against Thiel Jan. 20, 1990, while Mike Lukcic made all five of his three-point attempts against St. Mary's (Md.) Jan. 10, 2004.
Grove City will be the No. 4 seed in next week's PAC Championship Tournament. Grove City will host fifth-seeded Waynesburg Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Waynesburg swept both regular-season meetings this year.
Go back to Wolverine Basketball Home Page