BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team played its second game in the Coaches vs Cancer Tipoff on Saturday afternoon against the University of Valley Forge, and the Golden Tornadoes used a balanced attack, with six players scoring at least nine points, in the 82-59 victory.  Geneva improved to 2-1, while Valley Forge fell to 0-4.

Valley Forge is coached by former Geneva basketball player DJ Damazo, and Coach Damazo's brother Noah Damazo (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) was in the Geneva starting lineup, so the two exchanged a quick embrace right before tipoff. 

Valley Forge managed its only lead of the game at 8-5, but from there it was all Geneva.  The Golden Tornadoes unleashed a 19-1 run over the next six minutes to go up 24-9, as six different players scored in the run.  Geneva continued to stretch its lead out, finishing the first half up 43-23.  Nine different players scored, led by senior Matt Dragan (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) who finished with ten points.

The second half gave Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero an opportunity to get a number of different players playing time, as all seventeen players who suited up saw time on the floor.  Geneva's lead would grow to as big as 80-52 before closing out the win, 82-59.

"This was a good win for us," Coach Santarsiero said.  "I was proud of the way we battled.  We jumped out to the big lead, but then we got a little sloppy and had too many turnovers, so we need to clean that up.  We have the potential to be pretty good, but we have some things we need to work on to get there, and the guys understand that.  I was really happy for Danny (Torok) and David (Oliver), who made the all-tournament team.  They both played really well, and that's a good sign for us going forward.  We don't have a lot of time to rest, though, as we play a good Allegheny team on Tuesday."

Senior David Oliver (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) and Dragan led the offense with 14 points.  Junior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) added 12 points and nine rebounds, while junior Nick Rusyn (Salem, Ohio/Salem) scored ten points.  Geneva shot 48% from the floor while holding Valley Forge to 39% shooting, including forcing 20 turnovers.

Geneva has one more game before Thanksgiving break when the Golden Tornadoes host Allegheny College at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening.


Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 80 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs, and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top Three Best Value Regional University with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the truth 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.