January 14, 2015

Wolverines pull away against Penn State Beaver

GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Senior Mitch Marmelstein (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./St. Margaret's) led four Wolverines in double figures as the Grove City College men's basketball team overcame an 11-point first-half deficit to earn a 84-66 win over Penn State Beaver on Wednesday night in non-conference action in the Grove City College Arena.

Marmelstein hit his season average with a team-best 16 points while fellow senior J.T. Schwartz (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) and junior Caleb Knudsen (Saylorsville, Pa./Pius X) each scored 13 with Knudsen adding a game-high nine rebounds. Additionally, junior Tyler McGrath (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) had his best night as a Wolverine, scoring 12 points and matching Knudsen with nine rebounds.

Grove City (7-7) found itself in an early hole after committing turnovers on five of their first eight possessions. The Lions (3-10) used the extra possessions to jump out to a 14-6 lead and would extend that lead to 21-10 behind 11 Marcus Smith points just under eight minutes into the first half.

Penn State Beaver would still lead by nine with 5:35 to play at 26-17, but following a pair of free throws from sophomore Luke Tincha (Butler, Pa./Butler), Schwartz would score five straight points and McGrath hit two foul shots to draw the Wolverines even with the Lions at 26-26.

Marmelstein would answer a Smith layup with a three to give Grove City its first lead at 29-28 with 1:50 to play. Smith would respond with his fourth three-pointer of the half, but McGrath would re-tie the game at 31-31 on a tip-in putback and Schwartz hit a three with 35 seconds remaining to cap a 17-5 Wolverine run and send the Wolverines into the locker room with a 34-31 halftime advantage.

Smith led all scorers at the half with 16 points while Schwartz had 11 for Grove City.

The Wolverines carried that momentum over into the second half, scoring the first four points to take a seven points lead. The Lions' Chris Best would counter with five-straight Beaver points and Smith added a free throw to cut the lead back to three at 40-37 with 16:53 remaining.

A Marmelstein layup and two free throws each from Marmelstein and Tincha would push Grove City's lead to nine, but the Lions countered once again with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to two at 46-44 with 13:13 to play. Knudsen would end the run with a timely three-point play that grew the lead back to five and, after the two teams traded baskets, Grove City used a 12-1 run, capped by a layup by junior Joe Vermilya (Sylvania, Ohio/Southview), to lead 64-48 with 7:29 to play.

The Lions would make one final surge with a 9-0 run to cut Grove City's lead to seven, but Vermilya hit a big fastbreak three from the left side to spark a 12-3 run that would give the Wolverines a 76-60 lead with 3:13 to play and the Wolverines would hold on for the win.

Tincha and Vermilya each added seven points off the bench for the Wolverines. Grove City shot 49 percent (27-55) from the floor and 40 percent (6-15) from three-point range while holding the Lions to just 37 percent shooting. The Wolverines also held a dominant 48-31 advantage on the glass.

With his 16-point effort, Marmelstein moved into the top ten in Grove City history for career points. He currently sits in a tie for eighth place with 1,205.

Grove City returns to Presidents' Athletic Conference action on Saturday, hosting Mercer County-rival Thiel at 3 p.m. as the second half of a doubleheader with the Wolverine women.

Box Score

GROVE CITY'S 1,000-POINT CLUB

1-Jeff Claypool (1965-69)            2,234
2-Bob Crow (1979-83)                 1,450
3-Joe Buckley (1985-89)              1,413
4-John Cochran (1966-70)             1,352
5-Tanner Prosser (1999-2003)         1,263
6-Mark Timko (1991-94)               1,255
7-Fred Schwab (1970-74)              1,215
8-Deron Ryan (1984-88)               1,205
8-MITCH MARMELSTEIN (2011-Pres.)     1,205
10-Tim Mokma (1987-91)               1,197
11-Bill Fox (1975-79)                1,192
12-Tom Robinson (1957-62)            1,181
13-Mark Smith (1979-83)              1,171
14-Andy O'Keefe (2006-10)            1,164
16-Jim Wherley (1993-97)             1,162
16-Bart Niemeyer (1958-62)           1,145
17-Shawn Carr (2004-08)              1,121
18-Brett Matson (2008-12)            1,108
19-Benjamin Davis (1990-94)          1,094
20-Ryan Gibson (2005-09)             1,079
21-Dave Marovich (1962-65)           1,072
22-Ron Arrington (1962-66)           1,069
23-Ryan Eller (2001-05)              1,068
24-Mike Donahoe (1975-79)            1,051
25-Dan Von Handorf (1992-96)         1,029
26-Dutch Leonard (1955-59)           1,013