February 20, 2010
Wolverines clinch top seed
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team wrapped up the top seed in next week's Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship Tournament Saturday afternoon by rolling to a 69-47 victory over host Westminster (7-18, 3-9 PAC) in conference action at Memorial Field House. Grove City is now 17-8 overall and finishes the regular season with a 9-3 league mark.
Grove City led 33-24 at halftime and extended the lead to 45-29 in the second half. Westminster closed to within 49-46 with nine minutes left. That's when Grove City embarked on a game-ending 20-1 run in which the Wolverines held Westminster scoreless for the final six minutes of the game.
Sophomore guard Brett Matson (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) ignited the run with a three-pointer while senior center Andy O'Keefe (Perry, Ohio/Perry) followed with a three-point play. Matson then added consecutive layups and a three-point goal that pushed the lead to 63-47.
Matson and sophomore forward Drew Vandermeer (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) both fired in a game-high 18 points for the Wolverines. Vandermeer scored 12 first-half points to help the Wolverines jump out to a 23-10 lead.
Grove City shot 54 percent (27 of 50) from the floor in the win. Defensively, the Wolverines limited Westminster to an 18-for-49 (37 percent) shooting effort, including an 8-for-32 outing in the second half. Grove City also forced 25 Westminster turnovers.
Freshman center Jeff Newell (Boone, N.C./Watauga) added 10 points for the Wolverines. Vandermeer and O'Keefe both pulled in five rebounds while junior forward Luke Tomaselli (Cresson, Pa./Penn Cambria) handed out four assists.
Rob Briggs led Westminster with 13 points and nine rebounds. Ryne Murray added 12 points. Murray entered the game averaging a team-high 22 points per game.
Grove City has now held nine of its last 15 opponents to 54 points or fewer. Grove City's 17 regular-season wins are the most for the Wolverines since the 1988-89 team went 20-6. O'Keefe's 449 points this year is the 11th-highest single-season total in program history. He moved into 15th place on Grove City's all-time scoring list with 1,123 career points.
It is Grove City's first sweep of Westminster since the 2002-03 season. The Wolverines earned a 64-53 home win over Westminster January 20.
The Wolverines will host a PAC Championship Tournament semifinal Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Grove City College Arena. Grove City is in pursuit of its first conference title since 2007.
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-ANDY O'KEEFE (2006-) 1,123
16-Shawn Carr (2004-08) 1,121
17-Benjamin Davis (1990-94) 1,094
18-Ryan Gibson (2005-09) 1,079
19-Dave Marovich (1962-65) 1,072
20-Ron Arrington (1962-66) 1,069
21-Ryan Eller (2001-05) 1,068
22-Mike Donahoe (1975-79) 1,051
23-Dan Von Handorf (1992-96) 1,029
24-Dutch Leonard (1955-59) 1,013
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