November 19, 2010
Ithaca edges Grove City
ERIE, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 72-68 decision to Ithaca Friday night in the semifinals of the Penn State Behrend Tip-Off Tournament at the Junker Centre.
Grove City (0-2) took a 68-67 lead with 26 seconds left in the game on a layup from senior forward Luke Tomaselli (Cresson, Pa./Penn Cambria). However, Ithaca quickly reclaimed the lead on a three-pointer from Christian Jordan and Grove City could not forge a tie in the closing moments. Ithaca's Phil Barera sealed the win by hitting two foul shots with two seconds left.
Tomaselli led all scorers with 21 points while junior guard Brett Matson (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) added 11 points and six assists for the Wolverines.
Grove City led by as many as 11 points, 29-18, in the first half but Ithaca stormed back with a 22-7 run. The Bombers hit six three-point goals during the run and eventually led 42-37 at halftime. The Wolverines inched back ahead, 59-58, on a Tomaselli deuce with 8:49 left. Grove City would not lead again until the final minute.
The Wolverines shot 46 percent (29 of 63) from the field for the game while limiting Ithaca to 25-of-65 (39 percent) shooting. However, the Bombers sank 15 three-pointers. Grove City owned a 44-31 rebound margin. Junior guard Cody Fleeger (Butler, Pa./Butler) pulled in a game-high nine rebounds and junior center Kris Verderber (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) secured seven rebounds.
Matson and Tomaselli each had three steals.
Jordan Marcus led Ithaca (2-0) with 17 points. Jordan added a dozen points.
Ithaca will play Penn State Behrend in Saturday's championship game at 3 p.m. Behrend edged Muskingum 60-56 in the other semifinal. Grove City will play Muskingum at 1 p.m. in the consolation fray.
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