January 24, 2009
Grove City tops Geneva to earn season sweep
BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- Junior center Andy O'Keefe (Perry, Ohio/Perry) poured in 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting Saturday night to help lead the Grove City College men's basketball team to a 77-66 victory over host Geneva at Metheny Field House in Presidents' Athletic Conference action.
Senior guard Ryan Gibson (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) fired in 15 points while sophomore guard Caleb Orchard (Loudonville, Ohio/Loudonville) added 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The Wolverines shot 59 percent (29 of 49) from the field, including a 17-for-27 (63 percent) effort in the second half.
Geneva (4-13) stormed out to an 8-3 lead but Grove City bounced back after a time-out. Orchard drained a three-pointer and a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 10 and moments later, Gibson put Grove City (10-6) ahead to stay with a three-pointer. Later in the half, Gibson hit another three and senior forward John Scheller (Frisco, Texas/Hoover, Ohio) followed with a jumper to give Grove City its biggest lead of the half, 20-12.
Grove City led 35-30 at halftime but Geneva closed to within a point twice in the second half. The Wolverines owned a 44-43 lead when O'Keefe recorded a three-point play. On Grove City's next possession, he hit an 18-foot jumper that pushed the lead out to 49-43.
O'Keefe and freshman guard Brett Matson (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) both had four assists for the Wolverines. Orchard grabbed seven rebounds to help the Wolverines claim a 33-24 edge on the glass. Orchard scored 14 points against Geneva December 3 in the Wolverines' 68-64 overtime win at home.
Dave Phillips led Geneva with 18 points. The Golden Tornadoes shot 44 percent (22 of 50) from the field.
It is Grove City's second straight season sweep of Geneva. The Wolverines have also won three straight games at Metheny Field House. Gibson now has 977 career points. Saturday's game does not count in the PAC standings due to Geneva's provisional status in NCAA Division III.
Grove City hosts Westminster Wednesday night at 8 p.m. in PAC action.
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