The win for the Tomcats (4-18, 1-8) is their first PAC victory of the season. Along with Williams, sophomore guard Gary Gates added 18 points and four steals while freshman guard James Beedle chipped in with 13 points off of the bench.
Shawn Carr paced the Wolverines (8-14, 4-5) with 20 points while Ryan Gerber added 12.
After Thiel went up 16-15 with 12:18 remaining in the first half, Grove City responded by outscoring the Tomcats 17-7 over the next 10:33 to go up 10 (33-23). The Tomcats were able to trim the Wolverine lead to eight (37-29) going into the half.
Thiel opened the first half on a 14-2 run, keyed by senior Stephen Laird's seven points, and pushed its lead to five (43-38) with 15:32 remaining.
Chuck Cotherman tied the game for the 10th time in the second half with a free throw at the 3:41 mark and gave the Wolverines a 68-67 lead with his second. Thiel put together a 6-0 run to go up five (73-68) with 43 seconds to play before a pair of Carr free throws pulled Grove City back to within three (73-70) with 26 seconds remaining.
Williams put back with 22 seconds gave the Tomcats the 75-70 lead and a late Wolverine turnover iced the victory for Thiel.
Thiel finished shooting a season-high 56.8 percent (25-44) from the floor and hit 33.3 percent (5-15) from three-point range. Grove City knocked down 44.4 percent (20-45) of their shots from the field and 45.5 percent (10-22) of their three-point attempts while finishing with a 30-22 edge in rebounding.
Thiel will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 11 when they travel to PAC rival Washington & Jefferson College. Tip off is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Grove City College vs Thiel College 2-8-06 7:30 p.m. at Greenville, Pa. - Beeghly Gym At Greenville, Pa. - Beeghly Gym THIEL COLLEGE 75, GROVE CITY COLLEGE 70 GROVE CITY COLLEGE (8-14, 4-5) Shawn Carr 4-11 9-10 20; Ryan Gerber 4-7 2-2 12; Chuck Cotherman 3-6 2-4 9; Bobby Turner 3-4 1-4 7; Joe Capotosta 1-3 3-3 6; Eric Tinstman 2-2 0-0 6; Ryan Gibson 1-3 2-2 5; John Scheller 1-2 0-2 2; Daniel Zacour 1-3 0-0 2; Matt Phillips 0-3 1-2 1; Craig Hallman 0-0 0-0 0; Mark Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-45 20-29 70. THIEL COLLEGE (4-18, 1-8) Damien Williams 10-12 1-3 22; Gary Gates 5-7 8-10 18; James Beedle 4-9 3-5 13; Andre Jones 3-6 1-2 8; Stephen Laird 2-5 2-2 7; Dan Quiring 1-2 4-4 6; Geno Bianco 0-1 1-2 1; Steffon Radcliff 0-0 0-0 0; Tony White 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-44 20-28 75. Grove City College............ 37 33 - 70 Thiel College................. 29 46 - 75 3-point goals-Grove City College 10-22 (Shawn Carr 3-8; Ryan Gerber 2-5; Eric Tinstman 2-2; Chuck Cotherman 1-2; Joe Capotosta 1-3; Ryan Gibson 1-2), Thiel College 5-15 (James Beedle 2-6; Andre Jones 1-2; Damien Williams 1-2; Stephen Laird 1-4; Geno Bianco 0-1). Fouled out--Grove City College-None, Thiel College-None. Rebounds-Grove City College 30 (Chuck Cotherman 5; Bobby Turner 5), Thiel College 22 (Damien Williams 7). Assists-Grove City College 12 (Matt Phillips 4), Thiel College 11 (Andre Jones 5). Total fouls-Grove City College 19, Thiel College 19. A-329