STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Despite a strong first half that saw the Geneva College men's basketball team lead by as many as ten points, before eventually taking a six-point halftime lead, the Golden Tornadoes couldn't close out the victory on Monday night at Franciscan University, losing 69-66. Junior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) scored a career-high 30 points in the loss, but he didn't have enough help to defeat the Barons. Franciscan improved to 4-2, while Geneva fell to 2-3.
After Geneva scored the first bucket of the game, Franciscan scored eight straight points to take an 8-2 lead. From there the Golden Tornadoes controlled most of the half. Geneva answered with a 10-2 run to take a 12-10 lead, and the game was close until the Golden Tornadoes went on another run, this one 11-1, to take their biggest lead of the game, 28-18. However, two quick turnovers, which were a problem all game, gave Franciscan two fast-break layups, enabling the Barons to cut the lead to 32-26 at halftime. Senior David Oliver (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) had nine points, while Moose added eight.
The second half proved to be a back-and-forth affair. Franciscan quickly tied the score early in the half at 34-34, and from there neither team could take more than a six-point lead. Senior Eric McGee (Tampa, Fl./Seffner Christian) hit a jumper to give Geneva a 42-37 lead, but the Barons answered right back with a 7-2 run to tie the score at 44-44. The Golden Tornadoes took their last lead of the game at 58-56 on a layup from Moose with four minutes remaining.
Franciscan responded with the pivotal stretch of the game, scoring eight straight points over a two minute stretch to take a 64-58 lead with less than two minutes remaining. Geneva used a 1-3-1 press, though, to force back-to-back turnovers leading to two quick baskets, and after a missed Franciscan shot, Geneva had the ball with less than a minute remaining down 64-63. The Golden Tornadoes got the ball to Moose, but his driving layup with 30 seconds remaining rolled out, forcing Geneva to foul, and Franciscan made its free throws in holding off Geneva, 69-66.
"It was a game we could have won," a frustrated Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero said afterwards. "We continue to make strides in some areas but still struggle with turnovers and offensive rebounds. We need to figure this out pretty quickly as we get ready for our first conference game on Wednesday."
Moose finished with a double-double, scoring 30 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He scored 11 straight points for Geneva down the stretch. Unfortunately, he didn't get enough help from his teammates, as no other Golden Tornado finished in double figures. Geneva shot 43% from the floor and held Franciscan to just 37% shooting, but Geneva gave up 16 offensive rebounds and turned it over 17 times, proving to be too much to overcome. Franciscan was led by Matt Trent who finished with 22 points.
Geneva opens Presidents' Athletic Conference play on Wednesday when it travels to Bethany on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The Golden Tornadoes return home on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. game against Washington & Jefferson.
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.
