March 2, 2016

Wolverines fall in ECAC Quarterfinals

ERIE, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team's resurgent 2015-16 season came to an end Wednesday night with a 69-50 loss to No. 3 seed Penn State Behrend in the quarterfinal round of the 2016 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III South Men's Basketball Tournament at the Junker Center.

Grove City (18-9) trailed just 20-16 with 11:14 remaining in the first half, but the Lions (21-5) would go on a 16-0 run fueled by four three-point goals to lead 36-16 with 4:28 left en route to a 41-22 halftime lead.

The Wolverines would use a 9-0 run early in the second half to close the gap to 51-37 on a three by sophomore center Cory Huff (Kersey, Pa./Elk County Catholic) at the 11:36 mark, but the Lions answered with back-to-back threes to end the run and maintained the lead from there.

Sophomore forward Andrew Beckman (Shelby, Mich./Shelby) led Grove City with nine points and seven rebounds while seniors Isaiah Reeves (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry) and Erik Carlstrom (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) each added eight points in their final game as a Wolverine.

The Wolverines shot just 34 percent (18 of 53) from the field and 23 percent (5 of 22) from three-point range while Behrend hit 52 percent (26 of 50) of its field goals, including 13 threes on 27 attempts (48 percent). Grove City held a narrow 31-30 advantage on the glass but committed 19 turnovers.

Grove City finishes the 2015-16 season 18-9 overall. The Wolverines will lose Carlstrom, Reeves, senior guard Stephen Tam (Hamilton, Mass./Hamilton-Wenham) and senior guard Joe Vermilya (Sylvania, Ohio/Southview) to graduation.

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