February 18, 2012
Thiel nips Grove City at horn
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Thiel forward Austin Forbes drained a three-point goal as time expired Saturday afternoon to give the host Tomcats an 80-78 victory over Grove City in Presidents' Athletic Conference men's basketball action at Rissell-Beeghly Gymnasia.
Grove City took a 78-77 lead with 4.6 seconds left on a driving layup from senior guard Brett Matson (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland). However, Thiel quickly moved the ball down the court and Forbes' three-point attempt went through the hoop as time expired.
Senior center Kris Verderber (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) put Grove City up 72-70 with a backdoor layup with 1:04 to go. Freshman guard J.T. Schwartz (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) pushed the lead to 74-70 with a steal and layup with 37 seconds left.
A tip-in by Thiel's Ladell Trotty halved the lead but freshman guard Mitch Marmelstein (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./St. Margaret's) countered by hitting a pair of free throws. Thiel's Blair Rozenblad slashed the lead to 76-75 with a three-point play with 19 seconds left and following a Wolverine turnover, Rozenblad put Thiel up 77-76 with two foul shots.
Thiel led 34-32 at halftime after Ladell Trotty buried a three-pointer at the first-half buzzer.
Marmelstein led four Grove City players in double figures by firing in 20 points. Matson posted 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds while Verderber poured in 11. Schwartz finished with 10 points.
Grove City (11-13, 7-9 PAC) shot 27 of 59 (46 percent) from the field for the game, including a 17-of-29 (59 percent) effort in the second half. Thiel went 31 for 69 (45 percent) from the floor.
Anthony Harvey led Thiel (16-7, 13-3 PAC) with 22 points while Rozenblad posted a 16-point, 16-rebound double-double. Trotty also had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Thiel owned a 44-35 rebound edge.
Matson added five assists and Schwartz recorded four steals for Grove City. The game featured 14 ties and 15 lead changes. Neither team led by more than seven points. Ten of Grove City's 16 conference games have been decided by five points or less. The Wolverines went 5-5 in those games.
Grove City will be the No. 5 seed in next week's PAC Championship Tournament. The Wolverines will visit No. 4 Saint Vincent Tuesday night in the quarterfinals.
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-Andy O'Keefe (2006-10 1,164
14-Jim Wherley (1993-97) 1,162
15-Bart Niemeyer (1958-62) 1,145
16-Shawn Carr (2004-08) 1,121
17-Benjamin Davis (1990-94) 1,094
18-Ryan Gibson (2005-09) 1,079
19-BRETT MATSON (2008-) 1,075
20-Dave Marovich (1962-65) 1,072
21-Ron Arrington (1962-66) 1,069
23-Ryan Eller (2001-05) 1,068
23-Mike Donahoe (1975-79) 1,051
24-Dan Von Handorf (1992-96) 1,029
25-Dutch Leonard (1955-59) 1,013
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