December 5, 2007
Grove City wins 5th straight
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- After having its 88-81 lead slip away in the final 30 seconds of regulation, the Grove City College men's basketball team rebounded in overtime to pull out a 102-98 home win over Westminster in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at the Grove City College Arena Wednesday night. Grove City is now 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the PAC.
Five Grove City players scored in double figures, led by 20 points each from sophomore center Andy O'Keefe (Perry, Ohio/Perry) and junior guard Ryan Gibson (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover). O'Keefe's 20 points are a career high.
Senior guard Shawn Carr (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) fired in 18 points while junior guard Joe McCoy (Newark, Ohio/Newark) added 17 points. Sophomore guard Luke Tomaselli (Cresson, Pa./Penn Cambria) chipped in 11 points.
Grove City shot 14 of 22 (64 percent) from behind the three-point line in the win, including 9-for-12 accuracy in the second half. Carr drained a three-point goal with 2:51 left in regulation to give the Wolverines a 77-67 lead. Westminster (1-7, 0-1 PAC) eventually trimmed the lead to 86-81, but an O'Keefe layup with 29 seconds left gave Grove City a three-possession lead.
However, Westminster's Ryne Murray scored from close range and after a five-second violation against Grove City, Westminster senior Craig Hannon swished a three. McCoy split a pair of free throws for Grove City and on the Titans' last possession of regulation, Chauncey Whitlow drilled a game-tying three-pointer with seven seconds left.
In overtime, Tomaselli gave Grove City the lead for good, 98-96, with a three-point goal at the 2:34 mark. Tomaselli then split four free throws in the final five seconds to final seal the victory. Grove City made just 10 of 19 free throws in the win.
Grove City trailed 38-30 late in the first half but closed the period with a 7-0 run over the final two minutes. Gibson started the run with a driving layup while Carr followed with a three. O'Keefe's inside basket with eight seconds left cut Westminster's halftime lead to 38-37.
Grove City shot 39 of 68 (57 percent) from the floor and also owned a 38-35 edge on the glass. Westminster shot 33 of 72 (46 percent) from the field. The Titans also went 17 for 42 (50 percent) from three-point territory.
Carr and senior forward Bobby Turner (New Castle, Pa./Laurel) each grabbed six rebounds for Grove City. Gibson had eight assists while O'Keefe handed out a career-high six assists.
Max Spinner led Westminster with 22 points while Hannon added 19 points.
Grove City will look for its sixth straight victory Saturday afternoon at PAC rival Washington & Jefferson. The game will tip off at 2 p.m.
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