GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Crisp offensive execution and a stout defensive effort helped lift the Grove City College men's basketball team to a 78-57 victory Tuesday night over visiting Chatham in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship Tournament at the Grove City College Arena.

The No. 4 seed Wolverines (7-3) advance to Thursday's semifinals, where they will play at No. 2 Geneva. Geneva defeated No. 10 Saint Vincent, 94-62, in the quarterfinals. 

Grove City shot 34 of 65 (52 percent) from the field for the game. Defensively, Grove City limited Chatham to 34 percent shooting (20 of 58) from the field. The Wolverines also out-rebounded Chatham, 47-25.

Senior guard Justice Rice (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) fired in a game-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting for Grove City. Freshman forward Luca Robinson (Castaic, Calif./Hart) added 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. 

Grove City led 18-15 midway through the first half but took control of Tuesday's game by outscoring Chatham 26-7 over the final 9:37 of the period. Rice sparked the run with a four-point play. A layup by senior forward Joe Meola (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) pushed the lead to 24-15. 

Three-pointers from senior guard Erik Meiners (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) and sophomore guard Joshua McCray (Jessup, Md./Ashville College, U.K.) gave Grove City a 36-20 lead. Sophomore center Elijah White (Zelienople, Pa./Portersville Christian) hit a pair of field goals while Robinson and freshman forward Chris Brooks (Canfield, Ohio/South Range) also scored to help Grove City take a 44-22 lead at halftime.

A putback by junior center Josh Brown (Enumclaw, Wash./Enumclaw) with 4:23 left gave Grove City its largest lead of the night, 71-42. Overall, 14 men scored for Grove City. White and junior guard Ben Rose (Helena, Ala./Helena) both chipped in eight points. 

Senior forward Chris McKrell (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) pulled in a team-leading six rebounds for Grove City. Rice and Rose both recorded five rebounds. McKrell had a team-high four assists while Rose assisted three field goals. Rose also had two blocks and a pair of steals.

Grove City had 13 turnovers and Chatham committed 10 turnovers. Ben Pollock led Chatham with 13 points.

Grove City defeated Geneva in the 2020 conference tournament championship game in Grove City, 86-70. Geneva earned a 92-87 home win this season over Grove City on February 13. That game marked the Wolverines' season opener and the fourth game of the year to that point for Geneva. 

Thursday night's other semifinal features No. 6 Thiel at No. 1 Westminster. Thiel upset No. 3 Washington & Jefferson, 69-64, while Westminster eliminated No. 8 Franciscan, 99-78. The semifinal winners will play for the championship Saturday on the higher seed's home court.