December 12, 2015

Grove City falls at Thomas More

CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team saw its four-game winning streak come to a halt as the Wolverines fell to Thomas More 74-60 in Presidents' Athletic Conference road action on Saturday afternoon.

Senior guards Stephen Tam (Hamilton, Mass./Hamilton-Wenham) and Joe Vermilya (Sylvania, Ohio/Southview) and sophomore center Cory Huff (Kersey, Pa./Elk County Catholic) each scored nine points to lead the Wolverines while senior forward Caleb Knudsen (Saylorsburg, Pa./Pius X) chipped in seven points to go with team-highs of seven rebounds and four assists.

Grove City (6-3, 2-1 PAC) would get a three-point play from sophomore forward Andrew Beckman (Shelby, Mich./Shelby) to open the game with a 3-0 lead, but that lead would be short lived as Thomas More (3-4, 2-1 PAC) would answer with six straight points to lead 6-3 at the 15:23 mark and wouldn't look back.

The Saints would extend their lead to double figures late in the first half and keep a double-digit advantage for much of the second half. A Vermilya three would bring Grove City back within seven points at 53-46 with 6:53 left in the game, but Thomas More would counter with a 10-2 spurt to put the game out of reach.

Grove City shot 8 for 19 (42 percent) from three points range but just 22 for 58 (38 percent) overall. Thomas More made 10 of 21 (48 percent) three-point attempts and shot 23 for 51 overall (45 percent). Grove City also committed 19 turnovers, leading to 26 Saints points.

Brandon Horne, Simon Clifford and Ryne Callahan each scored 14 points for the Saints.

Grove City has two weeks off for final exams and the Christmas holiday. The Wolverines return to action on December 30, visiting Allegheny in non-conference action at 3 p.m.

Box Score