GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's basketball team dropped a 72-50 decision Thursday night to visiting Thiel (6-5, 5-3 PAC) in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at the Grove City College Arena.

Freshman guard Mike Christenson (Oakton, Va./Trinity) paced Grove City (6-7, 4-4 PAC) with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Sophomore guard Chase Yarberough (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) chipped in eight points. 

Christenson's three-pointer five minutes into the first half gave Grove City an 11-9 lead. Thiel surged ahead with a 9-0 run, however. Thiel's lead grew to 16 but Christenson's three-point play with 3:12 left in the half trimmed the lead to 34-23.

Thiel outscored Grove City, 10-2, over the final 3:12 of the half and led 44-25 at the intermission.

Thiel shot 17 of 31 (55 percent) from the field in the first half and finished the game 27 of 64 (42 percent). Grove City converted 21 of 64 (33 percent) shots from the floor. 

Freshman forward Christian Suceveanu (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Loyola) led the Wolverines with six rebounds while sophomore forward John Ward (Charlotte, N.C./Covenant Day) added five boards. Thiel outrebounded Grove City, 45-39. 

Ward led Grove City with three assists. Suceveanu and senior center Josh Bryan (Salem, Va./Salem) both blocked two shots. 

Grove City finished with 14 turnovers, with only four in the second half. Thiel turned over the ball eight times. Marlon Ellerbee led the Tomcats with 14 points while Elijah Harden posted 13.

Grove City will visit conference foe Allegheny at 4 p.m. Saturday in Meadville. It will be Grove City's fifth game in nine days.