GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Stout defense and balanced scoring helped lift the Grove City College men's basketball team to a 69-56 home victory Wednesday night over Chatham in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at the Grove City College Arena. 

Twelve men scored in the win for Grove City (1-1) and the Wolverines' defense held Chatham to 35 percent (23 of 66) shooting from the field for the game. 

Grove City led 35-29 at halftime and owned a 46-43 lead with 12 minutes remaining. That is when the Wolverines assumed control of the game with a 10-2 run over the next six minutes. Senior guard Justice Rice (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) sparked the run with a tip-in while sophomore forward Josh Bryan (Salem, Va./Salem) followed with a jumper in the paint.

Junior guard Ben Rose (Helena, Ala./Helena) pushed the lead to 54-45 with consecutive field goals and junior center Josh Brown (Enumclaw, Wash./Enumclaw) capped the run with a layup. 

The teams swapped the lead six times in the first half before Grove City took the lead for good, 20-19, with 7:54 left in the half as junior guard Isaac Thrasher (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) buried a three-pointer. 

Senior guard Erik Meiners (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) scored 11 of his game-high 15 points in the first half for Grove City. He went 6 of 9 from the floor. Rice added nine points while Thrasher and senior forward Joe Meola (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) both tossed in eight points. 

Rice also collected seven rebounds, helping Grove City own a 47-33 edge on the glass. Senior forward Chris McKrell (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) added six rebounds. Rice assisted seven field goals while Rose had four assists. Meola added three assists. 

Grove City shot 30 of 65 (46 percent) from the field for the game. The Wolverines had 15 turnovers and Chatham had 12 turnovers. Grove City held Chatham to a 4-for-24 (17 percent) outing on three-point attempts. 

Ben Pollock led Chatham (2-2) with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Grove City has now won 11 straight home games. The Wolverines will visit archrival Westminster at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in New Wilmington.