February 15, 2007
Grove City falls at W&J, 87-84
WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team fell to 12-12 overall and 5-6 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference with an 87-84 loss at PAC rival Washington & Jefferson Thursday night at the Henry Memorial Center. With the win, W&J (11-13, 7-4 PAC) clinches the No. 3 seed in next week's PAC Championship Tournament. Grove City will be the fourth seed.
Grove City shot 54 percent (30 of 56) from the floor, including 15-of-30 marksmanship behind the three-point line. However, the Wolverines allowed W&J to shoot 57 percent (27 of 47) from the floor. W&J also owned a decided edge at the foul line, making 25 of 32 free throws. Grove City made just nine of 16 foul shots.
Junior guard Shawn Carr (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) fired in 21 points and also pulled in 11 rebounds. Carr buried five three-point goals, giving him 17 threes over the last three games. Senior forward Mark Smith (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) poured in 20 points, including four threes, on 8-of-9 shooting. Sophomore guard Ryan Gibson (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) added 13 points and 10 assists.
W&J made seven of its first nine shots from the floor and jumped out to a 21-6 lead. Grove City eventually slashed the lead to 42-36 at the half as freshman guard Clay Hurley (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville) drained a buzzer-beating 40-footer at the end of the first half.
Grove City closed to within one on three different occasions in the second half but could not surge ahead.
Brandon Studer led W&J with 25 points while Jon Koch added 21. Wahab Owolabi posted 18 points. W&J owned a 26-25 edge on the glass. The Presidents also forced 19 Grove City turnovers. It is Grove City's third straight loss.
Grove City will host Thomas More Saturday at 3 p.m.
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