February 13, 2013
Wolverines blast Westminster
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball completed a season sweep of Presidents' Athletic Conference archrival Westminster Wednesday night by storming to a 76-45 home victory over the Titans at the Grove City College Arena.
Grove City limited Westminster to just four first-half field goals. The Wolverines held the Titans without a field goal for the final 12 minutes of the first half as Grove City closed the period on a 26-4 run. Grove City owned a 36-15 halftime lead.
Sophomore guard Mitch Marmelstein (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./St. Margaret's) ignited the run with a pair of three-point goals while sophomore forward Brian Giesler (Harrisville, Pa./Slippery Rock) and junior guard Evan Schell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oliver) also drilled three-pointers.
Grove City broke the game open by opening the second half with an 11-4 spurt. Giesler and sophomore guard J.T. Schwartz (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) both hit three-pointers early in the half, helping Grove City grab a 47-19 lead.
Marmelstein scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half while Schwartz finished with 12 points. Giesler added 10 points.
Grove City shot 48 percent (28 of 59) from the floor while holding Westminster to a 16-for-55 (29 percent) effort. Grove City also owned a 52-34 edge in rebounds. Freshman center Mark Pilarski (Gibsonia, Pa./Hampton) grabbed nine rebounds and Schwartz collected six boards.
Marmelstein and Schwartz both had four assists while Giesler had three assists and three steals.
Anthony Thomas led Westminster (7-16, 3-12 PAC) with 10 points. Grove City limited Doug Smith, Westminster's leading scorer at 16.5 points per game, to just three points. Smith scored 31 points in Grove City's 78-70 win at Westminster January 16.
The 15 points allowed in the first half marked the fewest ceded by the Wolverines in a half since holding Westminster to 13 points in the first half January 22, 2003. Westminster's 45 points are the fewest scored by the Titans against Grove City in the shot clock era.
Grove City is now 18-8 against Westminster since Westminster became a full member of NCAA Division III, including two straight season sweeps.
Grove City concludes the regular season Saturday at conference foe Thiel. Tip-off is 3 p.m.
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