November 28, 2007
Grove City rallies to shock Juniata, 64-63
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team erased a 21-point deficit over the final 12 minutes Wednesday night in stunning visiting Juniata, 64-63, in a non-conference game in the Grove City College Arena. It is Grove City's third straight win.
Sophomore guard Luke Tomaselli (Cresson, Pa./Penn Cambria) drilled the first of two free throws with 0.4 seconds left in the game to give Grove City its only lead of the night. With the game tied at 63, Tomaselli intercepted an errant Juniata pass in the backcourt, dribbled the length of the floor and drew a foul while driving to the basket.
After making the tie-breaking free throw, Tomaselli intentionally missed the second shot. The subsequent scramble for the rebound consumed the final second.
Juniata (3-2) led 40-19 at the half and extended the lead to 45-22 early in the second half. Juniata owned a 50-29 lead with 12 minutes left when Grove City began its charge back.
Sophomore center Andy O'Keefe (Perry, Ohio/Perry) tossed in a layup while senior forward Bobby Turner (New Castle, Pa./Laurel) canned a three-pointer. After a jumper from freshman guard Caleb Orchard (Loudonville, Ohio/Loudonville), O'Keefe hit two free throws at the 8:52 mark which slashed the lead to 50-38.
Grove City pulled to within single digits, 53-46, with 6:00 left as junior guard Joe McCoy (Newark, Ohio/Newark) drilled a three-pointer. Senior guard Shawn Carr (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) trimmed Juniata's lead to 58-54 with 2:58 left and on the Wolverines' next possession, Turner swished a three.
Carr, who led Grove City with 17 points, hit a jumper in the lane with 10 seconds left to tie the game at 63. Junior guard Ryan Gibson (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover), O'Keefe and Turner all added 10 points each while McCoy contributed nine points on three three-point goals.
Grove City shot 8 of 10 behind the three-point line in the second half after a 1-for-7 effort in the first half. For the game, Grove City shot 43 percent (20 of 47) from the floor. Juniata shot 45 percent (23 of 51).
Carr and O'Keefe both grabbed five rebounds for Grove City while Gibson had six assists. Brent Ferko led Juniata with 14 points. Juniata out-rebounded Grove City, 29-27. The Eagles committed 12 turnovers in the second half.
Grove City will visit Geneva Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
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