January 23, 2010
O'Keefe hits 1,000 as Grove City completes sweep
CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team moved into first place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Saturday afternoon by rallying for a 96-85 victory over conference rival Thomas More at the Connor Convocation Center.
Senior center Andy O'Keefe (Perry, Ohio/Perry) poured in a career-high 33 points for Grove City (11-7, 5-2) to become Grove City's 24th all-time 1,000-point scorer. O'Keefe, who also had seven rebounds and a career-high seven assists, now has exactly 1,000 in his career.
Three other Grove City players joined O'Keefe in double figures. Senior guard Joe McCoy (Newark, Ohio/Newark) fired in 18 points, including four three-point goals while sophomore forward Drew Vandermeer (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) recorded a dozen points. Sophomore point guard Brett Matson (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) added 10 points and a career-high eight assists for the Wolverines.
Grove City closed the game on a 10-0 run as the Wolverines went 10 for 10 at the foul line. Matson hit four straight foul shots and McCoy followed with four more free throws. Senior guard Andrew DiDonato (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) sewed up the win with a pair of free throws.
O'Keefe's layup with three minutes left in the game broke an 82-82 tie. The Wolverines had led by as many as nine in the second half, 72-63, after overcoming a 51-45 deficit earlier in the half. The Saints led by as many as eight points in the first half and owned a 46-41 halftime lead.
The Wolverines shot 69 percent (35 of 51) from the field in the win, including an 18-for-23 (78 percent) effort in the second half. Grove City also went 16 for 17 (94 percent) at the foul line in the second half.
McCoy grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for Grove City, which owned a 30-26 advantage on the glass. The Wolverines committed 23 turnovers but forced 20 Thomas More turnovers.
Daniel McKeehan and Aaron Miller both had 18 points each for Thomas More (13-5, 5-2 PAC). The Saints shot 47 percent (27 of 58) from the field for the game.
Both teams are 5-2 in the league but Grove City owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Saints. The Wolverines earned a 98-93 overtime win at home over Thomas More in the conference opener December 2.
O'Keefe's 33 points are the most by a Grove City player since Ryan Eller scored 41 at Westminster February 5, 2005.
Grove City will host Washington & Jefferson (4-2 PAC) Wednesday night at 8 p.m. in a pivotal conference game.
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-Shawn Carr (2004-08) 1,121
16-Benjamin Davis (1990-94) 1,094
17-Ryan Gibson (2005-09) 1,079
18-Dave Marovich (1962-65) 1,072
19-Ron Arrington (1962-66) 1,069
20-Ryan Eller (2001-05) 1,068
21-Mike Donahoe (1975-79) 1,051
22-Dan Von Handorf (1992-96) 1,029
23-Dutch Leonard (1955-59) 1,013
24-ANDY O'KEEFE (2006-) 1,000
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