January 18, 2012
Thiel edges Grove City, 56-49
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team fell to 3-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Wednesday night as visiting Thiel (11-4, 8-0 PAC) pulled out a 56-49 win over the Wolverines in the Grove City College Arena.
Defensively, Grove City limited Thiel to just 34 percent (19 of 56) shooting from the floor. However, Grove City (7-9, 3-5 PAC) shot just 30 percent (19 of 63) for the game.
Grove City pulled to within 49-47 with two minutes left when freshman guard Christian Durbin (Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley) drilled a pair of free throws. However, Thiel extended its lead to four with 50 seconds left on a driving layup by Blair Rozenblad. Thiel forward Ladell Trotty helped sew up the win by going 3 for 4 at the foul line in the final 35 seconds.
Grove City trailed 28-19 at halftime but the Wolverines opened the second half with a 10-0 run. Senior center Kris Verderber (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) ignited the run with back-to-back baskets. Durbin followed with a three-pointer, cutting the lead to 28-26. Junior forward Nate Rambacher (Newmanstown, Pa./Eastern Lebanon) put the Wolverines ahead with a three-point play at the 14:52 mark.
Thiel opened up a 44-39 lead on an Austin Forbes three-point goal with seven minutes left. Grove City cut the lead to 46-45 with 4:48 left on a layup by senior guard Brett Matson (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland).
Matson led all scorers with 19 points. He also led the Wolverines with eight rebounds. Verderber and Durbin both added nine points.
Forbes led Thiel with 12 points while Kamran McKaskill added 11. Rozenblad recorded nine points and 11 rebounds while Trotty pulled down 19 rebounds. Thiel outrebounded Grove City 48-41.
Matson recorded five steals while Durbin and Rambacher both had three assists. Grove City went 8 for 14 at the foul line while Thiel made 11 of 18 foul shots. Thiel had 16 turnovers and Grove City had a dozen turnovers.
Prior to Wednesday night's game, each of Grove City's last five conference games had been decided four points or less.
The Wolverines will open the second half of the conference schedule Saturday afternoon at Bethany. Tip-off is 4 p.m.
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