January 24, 2004
Grove City picks up first conference win
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Four Grove City players scored in double figures as the host Wolverines slipped past Thiel, 73-66, Saturday afternoon at the Grove City College Arena in Presidents' Athletic Conference men's basketball action.
Junior forward Ryan Eller (Erie, Pa./Iroquois) fired in a game-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting by junior point guard Mike Lukcic (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) tossed in 17, including 3-for-3 accuracy on three-point attempts.
Senior forward Tanner Prosser (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) chipped in 12 points, pushing him into 14th place all-time on Grove City's scoring list with 1,100 points. Sophomore swingman Matt Phillips (Bainbridge, Ohio/Kenston) came off the bench to score 10 points.
The teams traded runs throughout the first half as both squads led by as many six. Grove City used a 12-2 run in the final six minutes of the half to take a 36-32 lead into the intermission. Prosser hit a pair of foul shots and added a putback while Phillips and J.D. Collar (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) each chipped in field goals.
In the second half, Eller scored six straight points as Grove City (7-10, 1-2 PAC) took the lead for good. The Wolverines' lead grew to as large as 11, 60-49, before the Tomcats (6-12, 0-3 PAC) rallied. Freshman guard Chris Kwolek accumulated eight of his Thiel-high 20 points in a span that saw Thiel close to within 63-62 at the 3:30 mark.
Grove City's defense stiffened, however, and the Wolverines were able to seal the win. Lukcic scored a backdoor lay-in while Eller scored on consecutive possessions in the final 1:23.
Forward Mike Banach added 15 points for Thiel while D.J. Gambridge collected 12 points. Thiel out-rebounded Grove City, 41-32.
Lukcic (39 minutes), Phillips (37), Collar (36), Prosser (36) and Eller (33) were the only Wolverines to play double-digit minutes. Eller went 23-for-29 from the floor this week in two PAC games, racking up 55 total points.
Grove City hosts Waynesburg Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.
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-Mark Timko (1991-94) 1,255
6-Fred Schwab (1970-74) 1,215
7-Deron Ryan (1984-88) 1,205
8-Tim Mokma (1987-91) 1,197
9-Bill Fox (1975-79) 1,192
10-Tom Robinson (1957-62) 1,181
11-Mark Smith (1979-83) 1,171
12-Jim Wherley (1993-97) 1,162
13-Bart Niemeyer (1958-62) 1,145
14-TANNER PROSSER (1999-2003)1,100
15-Benjamin Davis (1990-94) 1,094
16-Dave Marovich (1962-65) 1,072
17-Ron Arrington (1962-66) 1,069
18-Mike Donahoe (1975-79) 1,051
19-Dan Von Handorf (1992-96) 1,029
20-Dutch Leonard (1955-59) 1,013
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