Senior forward Tanner Prosser (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) led five Wolverines in double figures with 18 points, while also pulling down eight rebounds.
The two squads battled to six ties over the first 16 minutes until the Wolverines rattled off seven of the last nine points of the first half to claim a 33-28 halftime advantage.
Grove City then started the second half on a 24-15 spurt to assume a 57-43 lead with 11:43 remaining. Junior guard Mike Lukcic (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) fueled the rally with eight points, including two three-pointers. The Wolverines held the double-digit advantage for all but four seconds of the final 11 minutes.
Freshman guard Jon Koch (New Kensington, Pa./Plum) led W&J (7-18, 1-9 PAC) with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. Freshman backcourt mate Brandon Studer (Johnstown, Pa./Conemaugh Valley) picked up 12 points, while junior forward Steve Button (Linesville, Pa./Linesville) and freshman guard Anthony Hairston (Roanoke, Va./Roanoke Catholic) added 10 points a piece. Button also grabbed six rebounds, while Hairston dished out six assists.
GCC (13-12, 7-3 PAC) held a 42-31 rebounding advantage and recorded 12 steals. Lukcic added 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while classmate J.D. Collar (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) netted 13 markers. Sophomore guard Matt Phillips (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) and freshman guard Bobby Glass (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) chipped in with 12 and 10, respectively.
Washington & Jefferson travels back to Grove City on Tuesday for the first round of the PAC Tournament. GCC is the No. 3 seed, while the Presidents are the tournament’s sixth seed. Tip-off is slated for 8:00 pm.