GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team pulled out an 84-81 win Wednesday night over visiting Franciscan in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at the Grove City College Arena. Grove City never trailed in the game but had to withstand several Franciscan runs over the final 20 minutes.

Grove City jumped out to a 10-0 lead and led by as many as 15, 26-11, in the first half. The Wolverines led 42-35 at halftime. Franciscan pulled to within one point on four occasions in the second half but Grove City did not relinquish the lead. 

Senior guard Ben Rose (Helena, Ala./Helena) drained two free throws with 20.7 seconds left to give Grove City a three-point lead. The Wolverine defense then recorded one final stop as Grove City limited Franciscan to a 30-foot attempt by Sean Hickey as time expired. 

Rose joined sophomore forward Luca Robinson (Castaic, Calif./Hart) and freshman guard Jonah Bock (Erie, Pa./McDowell) as double-digit scorers for the Wolverines. Robinson and Bock each finished with 13 points while Rose posted a dozen points. 

Robinson hit a pair of three-pointers in the first two minutes and freshman guard Chase Yarberough (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) added a layup to give Grove City (7-9, 3-6 PAC) its 10-0 lead four minutes into the game. Later, Rose's layup with 8:25 left in the half pushed Grove City's lead to 26-11. 

Rose added nine rebounds for Grove City to help the Wolverines accumulate a 50-33 edge on the glass. Robinson collected eight rebounds and junior swingman Joshua McCray (Jessup, Md./Ashville College, U.K.) added six rebounds. 

Rose distributed six assists while freshman forward John Ward (Charlotte, N.C./Covenant Day) had a career-high five assists. Ward also went 6 for 6 at the foul line and finished with a career-best eight points. Robinson and McCray both had three assists. Rose also blocked three shots. 

Grove City finished the game 29 of 59 (49 percent) from the field. Franciscan made 29 of 73 (40 percent) field goal attempts. The Barons went 14 of 34 (41 percent) from behind the three-point line while Grove City hit 8 of 17 (47 percent) three-point attempts. Bock and Robinson both had three three-pointers. 

Eleven men scored in Grove City's balanced attack. Yarberough, senior center Josh Brown (Enumclaw, Wash./Enumclaw) and sophomore forward Chris Brooks (Canfield, Ohio/South Range) all had seven points. 

Ten of Grove City's 15 turnovers came in the second half. Franciscan (4-10, 2-6 PAC) finished with three turnovers. Hickey led the Barons with 20 points. 

Grove City entered the game with a plus-14.9 rebound margin, which leads all divisions of NCAA men's basketball. 

Grove City will host Bethany at 3 p.m. Saturday in conference play.