January 28, 2012
Saint Vincent slips past Grove City
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team suffered a 62-57 setback against visiting Saint Vincent Saturday afternoon in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at the Grove City College Arena.
Grove City led 50-43 with 6:35 left but Saint Vincent countered with an 11-1 run to take the lead for good. Saint Vincent's Dennis Bassich ignited the run with consecutive three-point goals.
Grove City pulled to within 56-55 with 47 seconds left when senior guard Brett Matson (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) hit two free throws. However, Saint Vincent sealed the win with 6-for-6 marksmanship at the foul line in the final 35 seconds.
The Wolverines took their 50-43 lead after embarking on a 9-2 spurt. Freshman center Josh Eberly (New Providence, Pa./Solanco) opened the surge with a layup while Matson followed with five straight points. Senior Cody Fleeger (Butler, Pa./Butler) closed the run with a transition layup.
Matson led Grove City with 19 points and nine rebounds while senior center Kris Verderber (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) scored 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field. He also went 4 for 4 at the foul line.
Tauvon Pettiford led Saint Vincent (14-5, 7-3 PAC) with 21 points. Bassich had 12 and Chris Klimchock added 11. Saint Vincent led 26-25 at halftime.
Grove City shot 39 percent (20 of 52) for the game while Saint Vincent went 24 of 55 (44 percent). Saint Vincent held a 36-34 edge in rebounds. Grove City turned over the ball 15 times but forced Saint Vincent into 16 miscues. Freshman guard J.T. Schwartz (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) recorded six steals. Matson now has 995 career points.
Neither team led by more than four points over the first 33 minutes of the game. Each team led by seven points once in the final seven minutes.
Grove City will visit archrival Geneva Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.
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