February 22, 2011
Saint Vincent ousts Grove City
LATROBE, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team's bid for a second straight Presidents' Athletic Conference title came to an end Tuesday night as host Saint Vincent earned a 72-54 victory over the seventh-seeded Wolverines in the quarterfinals of the PAC Championship Tournament at the Carey Center.
No. 2 Saint Vincent (19-7) will now host third-seeded Bethany Thursday in the semifinals.
Grove City fell behind 16-2 early but the Wolverines answered with a 13-4 run of their own. Senior forward Luke Tomaselli (Cresson, Pa./Penn Cambria) sparked the run with back-to-back layups and freshman forward Matt Roush (Ashburn, Va./Briar Woods) followed with a three-pointer.
Grove City then cut the lead to 29-25 by halftime as junior guard Brett Matson (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) hit a pair of free throws with less than a minute left in the half.
However, Saint Vincent broke open the game with a 10-0 run early in the second half.
Tomaselli led Grove City with 21 points and junior center Kris Verderber (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) added 12 points. Matson tallied seven points and senior guard Bryn Moran (Columbus, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) chipped in with six points.
The Wolverines shot 36 percent (18 of 50) from the field. Saint Vincent shot 41 percent (26 of 64).
Tauvon Pettiford led Saint Vincent with 21 points and nine rebounds. Dennis Bassich (16), B.J. McGill (15) and Mike Burroughs (11) also reached double figures. Saint Vincent owned a 41-40 rebounding edge. Roush, Tomaselli and junior Mike Grist (Lexington, Ohio/Lexington) all had six rebounds each for Grove City (5-21).
Grove City will lose Moran and Tomaselli to graduation. Both players helped the Wolverines to three postseason appearances in their career.
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