By: Evan Miller, sports information assistant
December 30, 2008
BLUFFTON, Ohio – In the first game of the 11th annual McDonald’s of Bluffton Holiday Tournament, Grove City defeated Ohio State-Lima 74-42. The Barons of OSU-Lima, who dressed just nine players, stayed with the deeper team from Grove City for the first 10 minutes of the contest, but at the 6:34 mark the Wolverines jumped out to a 10-point lead, 22-12, and never looked back. The home team on the scoreboard led 31-17 at the break and pulled away in the final stanza thanks to 13-of-23 shooting (56.5 percent).
The Barons were paced by Andy Wisher who scored 12 points on 4-10 shooting from the field. Wisher also dished out three assists, tying teammate Blake Floyd for top honors. Kyle Rhoad led the Barons with two blocks.
For the Wolverines, Andy O’Keefe topped the victors with 15 points. Caleb Orchard grabbed a game-high nine rebounds on the night. Dan DiNinno recorded three assists to lead the team.
The Wolverines outshot the Barons from the field at 44.6 percent (25-of-56), compared to a dismal 21.0 percent display (13-for-62) by OSU-Lima. Grove City also dominated their opponent on the glass, collecting 50 boards, compared to the Barons 38. Both teams turned the ball over 12 times.
The two squads return to action on the second day of the McDonald’s Holiday Tournament as Grove City will face host Bluffton in the championship game at 3 p.m. and OSU-Lima will tangle with Wright State-Lake in the consolation game at 1 p.m.
