March 4, 2009
Wolverines fall in ECAC Tournament
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Four Grove City College players scored in double figures Wednesday night but the Wolverines dropped a 75-59 decision to second-seeded Catholic University in the quarterfinal round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Men's Basketball Southern Championship Tournament at the DuFour Center.
Junior center Andy O'Keefe (Perry, Ohio/Perry) paced Grove City with 17 points and 14 rebounds while freshman guard Brett Matson (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) added 14 points and four assists. Senior guard Ryan Gibson (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) added 13 points, along with four assists, and senior guard Joe McCoy (Newark, Ohio/Newark) rifled in 10 points.
Seventh-seeded Grove City led 34-33 at halftime and quickly pushed the lead to 36-33 on two McCoy foul shots. However, Catholic (18-9) took the lead for good with an 18-4 run. Catholic extended the lead to 63-47 with eight minutes left but Grove City answered with a 7-0 run. Gibson drained a jumper while McCoy followed with a three-pointer. O'Keefe bucketed a layup on the Wolverines' next possession to cut the lead to nine. Grove City could draw no closer, however.
Catholic jumped out to a 25-16 lead in the first half but Grove City responded with a 13-2 run in re-taking the lead. Consecutive three-pointers by Matson, freshman guard Cody Fleeger (Butler, Pa./Butler) and McCoy capped the spurt.
Grove City shot 23 of 54 (43 percent) from the field for the game. The Wolverines went 13 of 25 in the first half before being limited to 10-of-29 (35 percent) accuracy in the second half. Catholic shot 48 percent (25 of 52) from the floor. Catholic also owned a 33-32 edge on the glass.
Jason Banzhaf led the Cardinals with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Catholic will face sixth-seeded Washington & Jefferson Saturday in the ECAC semifinals at Cabrini College.
Grove City (12-13) made its third straight appearance in the ECAC Southern Championship Tournament. The men's basketball program has now made 12 postseason appearances since joining the NCAA in 1956.
Gibson finishes his career with 1,079 points, the 17th-highest career total in Grove City history. McCoy's 95 career three-pointers ranks sixth in Grove City history. The Wolverines will lose Gibson, McCoy, senior guard David Crosby (Williamsville, N.Y./Christian Central) and senior forward John Scheller (Frisco, Texas/Hoover, Ohio) to graduation.
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-Tanner Prosser (1999-2003) 1,263
6-Mark Timko (1991-94) 1,255
7-Fred Schwab (1970-74) 1,215
8-Deron Ryan (1984-88) 1,205
9-Tim Mokma (1987-91) 1,197
10-Bill Fox (1975-79) 1,192
11-Tom Robinson (1957-62) 1,181
12-Mark Smith (1979-83) 1,171
13-Jim Wherley (1993-97) 1,162
14-Bart Niemeyer (1958-62) 1,145
15-Shawn Carr (2004-08) 1,121
16-Benjamin Davis (1990-94) 1,094
17-RYAN GIBSON (2005-09) 1,079
18-Dave Marovich (1962-65) 1,072
19-Ron Arrington (1962-66) 1,069
20-Ryan Eller (2001-05) 1,068
21-Mike Donahoe (1975-79) 1,051
22-Dan Von Handorf (1992-96) 1,029
23-Dutch Leonard (1955-59) 1,013
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