BOX SCORE

The Saint Vincent men's basketball team won its fourth straight, defeating Grove City 58-49 in a defensive battle at the Grove City Arena.

The victory improved the Bearcats to 11-5 on the season, and 4-3 in Presidents' Athletic Conference play, while Grove City falls to 4-11 overall/1-5 in the PAC.

Dennis Bassich led Saint Vincent with 16 points, including 12 in the second half, while BJ McGill added 14.  The Bearcats shot just 35 percent (21-for-59), but forced 21 Grove City turnovers and out-rebounded the Wolverines 36-33, including a 16-7 advantage on the offensive glass.

The two teams shared three ties and three lead changes over the first five minutes of play, before the Bearcats broke open a 6-6 tie with seven straight points, highlighted with a long Brian Pizer three-pointer, to go ahead 13-6 with 14:20 remaining in the first half.

Saint Vincent then went cold, with Grove City going on an 11-0 run, spanning nearly seven minutes, to go in front 17-13 with 7:30 left.  A three-pointer from Bassich, followed by an Armani Fountain lay up, brought SVC to within one, 21-20, with two minutes until the break, but the Wolverines scored the final four points of the opening stanza to lead 25-20 at halftime.

Over the first 20 minutes, the Bearcats shot just 7-for-30 from the floor, and 3-8 from the foul line.

Grove City would stretch its lead to six, 33-27, with 15:01 left in the second half, but the Bearcats then stormed back.  Dillon Stith would score five points in a 50-second span, before Tauvon Pettiford would sink a jumper with 11:42 remaining to give SVC its first lead, 39-37, since the 12-minute mark of the first half.

The Saint Vincent lead would eventually grow to six, 43-37, on a McGill free throw with 7:49 left, but the Wolverines would fight back to close the gap to 47-42 with 4:32 remaining.

It was as close as the hosts would get, however, as Bassich would score six points over the final 5:30, with McGill going 5-for-6 from the foul line over the span, to seal the Bearcats' fourth straight victory,and move them into a tie for third place with Bethany in the PAC.

Grove City was led on the scoresheet by Kris Verderber, who scored 15 points, while teammate Brett Matson scored 12 points with a team-high seven rebounds.  Pettiford led SVC on the glass, pulling in seven caroms.

The Bearcats will return to action on Wednesday night, hosting Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Thomas More College in the Carey Center beginning at 7:30pm.