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Geneva College Athletics

official home of the geneva college golden tornadoes
geneva college golden tornadoes
geneva college golden tornadoes
Rusyn
67
Winner Geneva GEN 6-8, 2-5 PAC
58
Chatham CHA 4-10, 1-6 PAC
Winner
Geneva GEN
6-8, 2-5 PAC
67
Final
58
Chatham CHA
4-10, 1-6 PAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Geneva GEN 29 38 67
Chatham CHA 39 19 58

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Late Comeback Earns Geneva the Victory

Pittsburgh, PA—The Geneva College men's basketball team traveled to Chatham College on Wednesday evening in search of its first winning streak of the season.  It didn't look good for most of the game for the Golden Tornadoes, but a game ending 16-2 run propelled Geneva to the comeback victory, 67-58.  Geneva improved to 6-8 overall, 2-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Chatham fell to 4-10 overall, 1-6 in the PAC.
 
Geneva got off to a slow start and immediately fell into a hole.  Chatham scored the first nine points of the game before a jumper from junior Eric McGee finally put Geneva on the board.  Chatham extended the lead out to 14-2 before Geneva finally got its offense going.  The Golden Tornadoes had managed to cut the lead 23-18 on a jumper from junior Danny Torok with 6:42 remaining in the half when Chatham went on another run.  Chatham scored the next nine points, and that lead eventually grew to 37-24 before Geneva closed the gap to 39-29 at halftime.  Senior Jimmy Leichliter led the team with 11 points in the half.
 
Geneva began to chip away at the Cougars lead early in the second half, cutting the deficit to 46-42 on a jumper from sophomore Ethan Moose with 12:14 remaining.  However, back-to-back turnovers by Geneva led to two quick 3-pointers from Chatham, and Geneva found itself back down double digits once again, 52-42.  It would prove to be the last positive sequence for Chatham, though, as Geneva slowly began to cut back into the deficit.  Down 56-51 with 7:31 remaining, Geneva stiffened defensively and Chatham managed only two points the remainder of the game, allowing Geneva to close on a 16-2 run to win, 67-58.  With the win over Franciscan on Monday night, it marked Geneva's first winning streak of the season.
 
"Our guys showed great character against a lot of adversity," Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero said.  "It was nice to win on the road against a talented team.  I am so proud of our effort!"
 
Geneva got another big game from Leichliter, who finished with a double-double, 20 points and 12 rebounds.  McGee added 15 points, while Moose rebounded from a rough first half to finish with 10 points.  Sophomore Nick Rusyn contributed nine points.  Geneva shot 48% from the floor, including 52% in the second half.  Geneva did significant damage from the free throw line, attacking the rim instead of settling for jumpers, and the Golden Tornadoes took advantage, converting 19-25 (76%) free throws compared to just 4-8 for Chatham.
 
Geneva will look to make it three wins in a row when it welcomes Waynesburg University to Metheny Fieldhouse this Saturday, January 13, at 3:00 p.m.  Waynesburg enters the game 7-7 overall, 3-4 in PAC action.


Geneva College invites students to step forward and leap ahead with an academically excellent, Christ-centered and affordable education. Offering nearly 40 undergraduate majors, Adult Degree Programs with fully online and campus-based options, and high-demand advanced graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top 10 Best Value with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the inerrancy of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world.
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