GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team rallied for a 61-59 home victory Wednesday night over Thiel in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at the Grove City College Arena. The Wolverines erased a seven-point deficit over the final five minutes to earn their 12th straight home win.

Grove City (3-2, 3-2) trailed 54-47 but charged ahead for good with an 11-0 run. Senior forward Chris McKrell (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) broke a 54-54 tie with a 15-foot jumper at the 2:30 mark. Senior guard Justice Rice (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) capped the run with a steal and layup moments later.

Junior guard Ben Rose (Helena, Ala./Helena) ignited the comeback with a jumper at the 4:35 mark. Junior guard Isaac Thrasher (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) sank a three-pointer on the next possession, cutting Thiel's lead to 54-52. Rice tied the game with a layup after an offensive rebound. 

Grove City led 61-59 in the closing moments but a defensive foul put Thiel's Marlon Ellerbee at the foul line with five seconds left. Ellerbee missed the first shot and then intentionally missed the second foul attempt. He tracked down the offensive rebound and shot a baseline jumper. The shot missed, however, and Rose secured the defensive rebound as time expired.

Thiel (1-2, 1-2 PAC) held Grove City to 33 percent (23 of 69) shooting from the floor. The Wolverines shot 10 of 36 (28 percent) in the second half. Grove City's defense held Thiel to a 9-for-29 (31 percent) shooting performance in the second half. Overall, Thiel shot 24 of 62 (39 percent).

Rice led Grove City with 11 points while Rose and freshman forward Luca Robinson (Castaic, Calif./Hart) both posted 10 points. Rice also had four assists and three steals while Rose recorded three steals. 

Junior center Josh Brown (Enumclaw, Wash./Enumclaw) pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds. Rice and sophomore forward Elijah White (Zelienople, Pa./Portersville Christian) both had six rebounds. Grove City owned a 50-41 edge on the glass. The Wolverines had 20 offensive rebounds. 

John Aarestrup led Thiel with 12 points. Thiel led 35-32 at halftime. Thiel had 16 turnovers while Grove City committed 17 turnovers. 

The Wolverines will host Franciscan at 1 p.m. Saturday in conference action.