February 1, 2014
Wolverines fall to Bethany
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team couldn't overcome a 22-7 Bethany advantage in points off turnovers as the Wolverines fell to the Bison 73-66 in Presidents' Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon in College Arena.
Juniors Mitch Marmelstein (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./St. Margaret's) and Brian Giesler (Harrisville, Pa./Slippery Rock) each scored 15 points to lead the Wolverines (8-11, 5-6 PAC) while Marmelstein also added a game-high seven assists.
The Bison's Delonte' Joyce opened the game with a three to give Bethany (16-4, 9-2) an early edge but Marmelstein responded with a layup to get the Wolverines on the board, and junior Josh Patterson (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette), Marmelstein, and sophomore Joe Vermilya (Sylvania, Ohio/Southview) each hit threes to give Grove City an 11-3 lead at the 14:26 mark.
Bethany battled back to tie the score at both 11 and 15 and would take an 18-15 lead on a Leslie Addy three, but Patterson would hit a pair of threes as part of a 7-0 Wolverine run to retake the lead at 22-18 with five minutes remaining in the half.
Marmelstein would answer an Antonio Rudolph layup with another three to give Grove City a 25-20 edge, but Bethany would close the half on a 13-2 run to take a 33-27 advantage into the locker room.
The Wolverines held Bethany to just 38 percent shooting in the first half, but the Bison's length and pressure defense forced 13 Grove City turnovers, leading to 16 Bethany points.
Junior J.T. Schwartz (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) would each hit threes early in the second half to answer a pair of Bethany buckets, but the Bison then went on a 12-3 run to take their largest lead of the game at 50-36 with 14:26 remaining.
Bethany would maintain a lead between eight and 12 points for much of the half, but Giesler would score seven-straight points to bring the Wolverines within at 62-57 with 4:21 to play.
That's as close as Grove City would get, however, as the Bison hit just enough free throws down the stretch to stave off a Wolverine comeback.
Young and Addy each scored a game-high 18 points to lead Bethany while Young added a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Wolverines shot 47 percent (23-49) from the floor and hit 13 threes but Bethany held a 17-7 advantage at the foul line and a 34-28 advantage on the boards.
Grove City returns to action on Wednesday, traveling to Franciscan for a 6 p.m. non-conference matchup.
Go back to Wolverine Basketball Home Page