Men’s basketball triumphs on Senior Day
By Natalie Hanna · Staff Writer
The Grove City men’s basketball team’s Senior Day victory over Waynesburg brought them to a 10-13 record on Saturday, two games out from the end of the regular season.
Prior to the 94-73 win, which closed out their home schedule, Grove City honored its four seniors — guards Kyle Randle and Mike Christenson, as well as forwards Christian Suceveanu and David Olinger.
“My experience at Grove City, and especially with this team, has been such a tremendous experience. One of the best things about this place is the people, and my teammates have been nothing but supportive and uplifting during my time here. The relationships I have made with my teammates are ones that are going to last a lifetime, and I would not have wanted to do it with anyone else,” Suceveanu said.
It was also a big night for the Grove City record books. Randle not only tied the men’s basketball single-game three-point record, but also recorded a career-high 32 points, greatly contributing to the win with over one third of the team’s points.
He went eight for 16 from behind the three-point line, chalking up 24 points strictly from three-pointers.
“It was really special to have my career high on senior night. I couldn’t have asked for a better game for myself or from the team on a better night. Being able to tie a record and have my name in the record books is something I never had in mind, but I’m grateful for it,” Randle said.
In addition to Randle’s outstanding performance, junior center Austin Johncour recorded a career-high 21-point, 10-rebound double-double, and Christenson put up 19 points in the triumph over the Yellow Jackets.
The Wolverines led 30-15 midway through the first half after consecutive shots from junior guard Colton Martin and Johncour. Waynesburg clipped the lead to 45-38 by halftime, but Grove City was able to stay on top in the second half.
They maintained the advantage at 72-64 with six minutes remaining and then broke away with a 19-2 run sparked by a putback from sophomore guard Anderson Skelton.
Martin drained a jumper, Johncour contributed with a three-point play completed at the free throw line and junior forward Caleb Haller scored a basket in the paint.
Grove City finished out their 19-point surge with four Christenson free throws, two from Martin and a dunk from Randle.
“One thing we did really well as a team was rebounding offensively and defensively. We only gave up three offensive rebounds to our opponent and grabbed 24 offensive rebounds ourselves, which really gave us control over the game,” Randle stated.
Haller and Randle each recorded eight rebounds, and Christenson and Martin each contributed seven. The team’s 24 offensive rebounds led them to finish with an overall 55-21 margin on the glass. Their plus-34 margin is the largest for the Wolverines since a 65-27 edge on Jan. 14, 2023, against Washington & Jefferson.
Grove City closes out the regular season at 3 p.m. tomorrow against the Thiel Tomcats in Greenville, Pa., with the PAC playoffs soon to follow.
“In order to win in the playoffs, you have to play two good halves. Our first half against Waynesburg wasn’t as good as our second half. Once we get to playoff time, we need to play 40 minutes of great basketball to put ourselves in a position to win,” Christenson said.
