February 21, 2012
SVC slips past Grove City
LATROBE, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team dropped a 71-64 decision to No. 4 seed Saint Vincent Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship Tournament at the Bearcats' Carey Center.
Grove City, the fifth seed, took its final lead of the game with 9:49 left when senior guard Brett Matson (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland) drilled a three-pointer that put the Wolverines ahead 51-50. However, Saint Vincent's Dennis Bassich countered with a three-pointer of his own, putting Saint Vincent back on top.
Saint Vincent (19-7) pushed the lead to 66-57 with four minutes left but senior Cody Fleeger (Butler, Pa./Butler) ignited the Wolverines' final charge by hitting a three-pointer. Senior center Kris Verderber (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) and Matson followed with consecutive layups that pulled the Wolverines to within 67-64 with 53 seconds left.
Dillon Stith and Chris Klimchock both hit two free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal the win for Saint Vincent.
Grove City took its largest lead of the game, 46-38, with 14:37 left on two free throws by Matson. Saint Vincent responded with a 15-5 run, capped by Bassich's three.
Matson led Grove City with 23 points and concluded his career with 1,098 points, the 17th-highest total in program history. Verderber finished with 13 points.
Tauvon Pettiford led Saint Vincent with a career-high 22 points and Bassich had 17. Saint Vincent shot 27 of 65 (42 percent) from the field while Grove City converted 23 of 52 (44 percent) shots from the floor. Grove City had 12 turnovers and Saint Vincent had eight turnovers.
Verderber led Grove City (11-14) with seven rebounds. Saint Vincent owned a 41-31 edge on the glass.
Freshman guard Christian Durbin (Zelienople, Pa./Seneca Valley) recorded six assists for the Wolverines and Matson had four.
Saint Vincent will face No. 3 Thomas More in Thursday's semifinals. Grove City will lose Fleeger, senior forward Mike Grist (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington), Matson and Verderber 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-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-BRETT MATSON (2008-12) 1,108
18-Benjamin Davis (1990-94) 1,094
19-Ryan Gibson (2005-09) 1,079
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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