By Garrett Gess · Contributing Writer
The college’s men’s basketball team fell in a close contest to Penn State Greater Allegheny on Nov. 21 in McKeesport, Pa.
The Wolverines put together a strong comeback that brought the game to a one-possession margin in the final minute. The first half set the tone for a back-and-forth battle.
Greater Allegheny drew the first blood with a layup, but Grove City quickly responded. Junior forward Owen Wolf scored a layup to tie the game at 2-2, followed by a free throw to give the Wolverines a 3-2 lead.
With early baskets from Greater Allegheny, the Wolverines were down 34-21 with six minutes left in the first half, but Grove City displayed resilience, cutting their deficit to just three points with a 36-33 halftime score.
In the second half, senior guard Kyle Randle tied the game at 36-36 with a jumper early in the period, keeping the pressure on. After an opposing rally, senior guard Mike Christenson and junior guard Caleb Haller drained three-pointers to close within two points at 47-45.
After back-and-forth action, in the closing minutes, Christenson’s layup put the Wolverines ahead 60-59. Greater Allegheny responded with a three, with Randle followed with a clutch three-pointer of his own two minutes to go, giving Grove City a 63-62 lead. Greater Allegheny responded with a pair of three-pointers to take a 68-63 advantage with one minute to go. The Wolverines continued to fight hard but could not close the gap quickly enough as the clock expired. Randle hit a buzzer-beater three to put the final at 72-70.
The loss put Grove City at 1-4 in the season. The Wolverines opened at home against Pitt-Greensburg, losing 70-64 in a close game. They rebounded on the road with a decisive 89-60 win over Carlow but fell 85-69 to Lancaster Bible the next day. In their next road game at Pitt-Bradford, Grove City was defeated 80-70.
The Wolverines faced tough competition early in preparation for conference competition in the PAC. So far this season, the Wolverines have scored 292 points compared to 295 points allowed, showing that the games have been relatively close, and the Wolverines have remained competitive.
Thus far, Christenson leads the Wolverines with 17.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, providing an all-around impact. Randle averages 14.8 points per game and leads the team in steals at 1.4 per game with strong defense.
Grove City enters conference play as a top contender in the North Division, earning four first-place votes and 58 points in the preseason coaches’ poll, just behind Westminster College with 60.
Last season, the Wolverines finished 16-11 overall and 12-8 in PAC play. They started with losses in two of their first three games of the season, but came back strong, hanging tough with Chatham in the PAC semifinals, who eventually won the conference championship.
With divisional play now in effect, Grove City aims to build on its solid foundation and compete for a top four seed in the expanded PAC tournament. Christenson, Randle and junior center Austin Johncour were listed as PAC players to watch.
Grove City hosted Geneva on Wednesday at home to open conference competition and will face Hiram on the road at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
