January 14, 2013
Grove City rallies for 63-60 win
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team rallied from a seven-point deficit in the second half to pull out a 63-60 win over visiting Penn State Altoona (5-9) Monday night in non-conference action at the Grove City College Arena.
The Wolverines trailed 51-44 with less than nine minutes left but took the lead for good by assembling a 12-0 run. Sophomore guard Josh Patterson (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) and sophomore forward Brian Giesler (Harrisville, Pa./Slippery Rock) drilled back-to-back three-pointers, tying the game with seven minutes left.
The Wolverines then pulled ahead on a tip-in by freshman guard Isaiah Reeves (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry). Giesler canned another three-pointer on Grove City's next possession, boosting the lead to 56-51.
Senior forward Nate Rambacher (Newmanstown, Pa./Eastern Lebanon) recorded a pair of tip-ins in the final 90 seconds, helping Grove City maintain its lead. Penn State Altoona's Durant Harvin attempted a game-tying three-pointer in the closing seconds but the shot missed and Reeves grabbed the rebound.
Grove City led 34-28 early in the second half but Altoona countered with an 18-4 spurt, taking a 46-38 lead.
Giesler paced the Wolverines with 11 points while sophomore guard Mitch Marmelstein (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./St. Margaret's) added 10 points. Rambacher recorded nine and junior guard Evan Schell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oliver) contributed eight points.
Marmelstein, Patterson and Rambacher all had six rebounds, helping Grove City own a 38-36 rebound edge. Marmelstein distributed six assists and sophomore guard Christian Durbin (Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley) tallied four assists.
Harvin and Matt Gehret each scored 13 points for Penn State Altoona. Penn State Altoona shot 39 percent (22 of 57) from the field while Grove City went 23 of 61 (38 percent). The Wolverines had just 12 turnovers and forced 17 turnovers.
Grove City returns to Presidents' Athletic Conference play Wednesday at Westminster. Tip-off is 8 p.m.
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