November 16, 2012
John Carroll clips Grove City in opener
ERIE, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team opened the 2012-13 season Friday night with a 67-56 setback against John Carroll in the semifinals of the Penn State Behrend Tip-Off Tournament at the Junker Centre.
Sophomore guard Christian Durbin (Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley) fired in a game-high 16 points to pace Grove City while sophomore guard Mitch Marmelstein (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./St. Margaret's added 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
John Carroll (1-0) led 39-28 at halftime and extended the lead to 17, 54-37, midway through the second half. Grove City countered with a 13-2 run over the next five minutes, however. Durbin ignited the run with a layup and sophomore forward Brian Giesler (Harrisville, Pa./Slippery Rock) followed with a three-pointer. Freshman center Mark Pilarski (Gibsonia, Pa./Hampton) capped the spurt with a layup.
John Carroll sealed the win by outscoring the Wolverines 11-2 down the stretch.
Grove City shot 35 percent (19 of 54) from the field for the game while John Carroll went 19 for 51 (37 percent). Grove City also forced 25 turnovers. The Blue Streaks owned a 45-29 edge in rebounds, however. Pilarski led Grove City with seven rebounds. Kyle Hubbard led John Carroll with 16 points.
Grove City will face Wells College (N.Y.) at 1 p.m. in Saturday's consolation game. Host Penn State Behrend downed Wells 77-43 in Friday's other semifinal.
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