December 29, 2009
Marietta clips Grove City
MARIETTA, Ohio -- The Grove City College men's basketball team dropped to 5-5 overall Tuesday night with a 74-67 setback against host Marietta in the semifinals of the 39th Shrine Classic at Ban Johnson Field House.
Marietta (4-6) bolted to a 10-0 lead four minutes into the game and maintained a double-digit lead for much of the first half. Grove City charged back in the second half by using a 21-4 run to take the lead. A layup from junior forward Luke Tomaselli (Cresson, Pa./Penn Cambria) gave Grove City a 45-44 lead with 11:13 left.
However, Marietta took the lead for good with 7:30 left, 55-52, on Joe Puch's three-pointer.
Sophomore guard Brett Matson (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) led Grove City with a game-high 21 points while senior center Andy O'Keefe (Perry, Ohio/Perry) added 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting. He also pulled in nine rebounds and had five assists. Tomaselli also had five assists for the Wolverines.
As a team, Grove City shot 23 of 49 (47 percent) from the field. The Wolverines shot 52 percent (15 of 29) from the field in the second half. Marietta shot 44 percent (25 of 57) for the game. The Pioneers owned a 35-33 rebounding edge.
Kevin Knab led Marietta with 18 points while Puch had 14.
Grove City will face Ohio Wesleyan Wednesday at 5:30 in the tournament consolation game. OWU dropped a 79-72 decision to Guilford in the other semifinal.
Go back to Wolverine Basketball Home Page