2/10/2010 10:37:20 PM
GROVE CITY, Pa. (Feb. 10, 2010) – The Thiel College men’s basketball team brought its brooms to Grove City College Arena Wednesday evening as the Tomcats eased past the Wolverines, 85-75, to sweep the season series from the Presidents’ Athletic Conference leaders.
The win gave Thiel it’s seventh-consecutive win and raised its record to 13-9 on the season, with a 6-4 mark in the PAC. Grove City fell to 14-8 and 8-3 in league play.
For the second time this season, Grove City could not contain the Thiel duo of Devon Adams (Philadelphia, Pa./George Junior Republic) and Blair Rozenblad (Youngstown, Ohio/Kennedy Catholic). Adams accounted for a game-high 21 points and six assists, while Rozenblad tossed in 18 points.
The Tomcat twosome combined for 38 points in the teams’ Jan. 9 meeting in Greenville.
Andy O’Keefe paced Grove City with 19 points.
Grove City and Thiel battled back-and-forth in the evening’s opening period as the Wolverines erased Tomcat leads of five and seven points to enter the intermission with a, 37-35, advantage.
The Wolverines opened the second stanza with a 4-0 run to stretch its lead to 41-36.
Three minutes later, Thiel drew even with its in-county rival on the front end of a pair of Cory Chaffee (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) free throws. Chaffee’s second foul shot found its way through the rim to give the Tomcats their first lead of the period, 44-43.
Thiel went on an 8-to-2 tear over the next three minutes thanks to pairs of layups by Sean Devinney (Arsenal, Pa./Central Catholic) and Matt May (Oil City, Pa./Oil City Area).
After a brief Wolverine run, an old-fashioned three-point play by O’Keefe moments later forced a 52-all tie.
Sparked by six points from reserve Ladell Trotty (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East), Thiel scored 15 of the game’s next 20 points to give the Tomcats a, 75-57, advantage that would prove to be insurmountable.
Grove City scored the contest’s final eight points, which served only as window dressing.
The Tomcats, who snapped the Wolverine’s six-game win streak, dominated the boards to the tune of 43-to-26. Thiel held a mere four-rebound advantage after the first half of play.
Rozenblad paced Thiel with seven rebounds.
Westminster visits Thiel's Beeghly Gymnasium on Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest.