February 19, 2014
Second-half run propels Wolverines past Titans
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team used a 16-0 run spanning nearly seven minutes in the second half to break open a close game and earn an important 62-49 victory over rival Westminster in Presidents' Athletic Conference action on Wednesday night.
Sophomore guard Isaiah Reeves (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry) scored a game-high 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting to lead the Wolverines (10-13, 7-8 PAC) while junior forward Brian Giesler (Harrisville, Pa./Slippery Rock) and junior guard J.T. Schwartz (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) each added seven points. Schwartz also filled the stat sheet with a team-high eight rebounds and game-highs of six assists and five steals.
In a tightly contested first half that featured four ties and four lead changes, it was Westminster (3-21, 2-13) who held the advantage for the majority of the period, leading by four on three occasions, including 22-18 with 6:48 remaining. Grove City countered with a 12-2 run, capped by a Giesler three with 19 seconds remaining, to take the lead at 30-24 before the Titans' Anthony Thomas hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to make it a 30-26 halftime score.
The Titans opened the second half on an 8-3 run, retaking the lead at 34-33 on a Matt Getsy three with 16:37 to play. Consecutive threes by sophomore Stephen Tam (Hamilton, Mass./Hamilton-Wenham) and junior Josh Patterson (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) and a layup by freshman Luke Tincha (Butler, Pa./Butler) put Grove City on top 41-34, but Westminster would close back within three at 44-41 on a Thomas three-point play with 10:10 left in the second half.
It was all Grove City from there, as the Wolverines used a 16-0 run to break the game open and led by as much as 20 before the Titans closed the game with seven-straight points against the Grove City reserves.
Thomas led Westminster with 13 points and seven rebounds while Coty Gander added 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
The Wolverines shot 44 percent (24-55) from the floor and 44 percent from three-point range (11-25) while assisting on 20 of their 24 made field goals. Grove City also held a 37-30 rebounding advantage for the game.
Grove City returns to action on Saturday, hosting Mercer County-rival Thiel in the PAC and regular-season finale at 3 p.m. The Wolverines will honor lone senior Evan Schell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oliver) prior to the game, and the College will honor its eight Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees at halftime.
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