BETHANY, W.Va. – It took all of one minute for Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero to realize that he was going to have to rely heavily on his bench on Wednesday night in the team's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener at Bethany.  That's when starting point guard Eric McGee (Tampa, Fl./Seffner Christian) had to leave the game after turning an ankle just seconds into the game.  Yet the Golden Tornado bench proved up to the challenge, scoring 35 points in leading the way to a 63-52 victory over the Bison.  Geneva improved to 3-3, 1-0 in the PAC, while Bethany fell to 1-5, 0-1 in the PAC.

Bethany immediately took advantage of McGee's absence, jumping out to a 10-2 lead just two minutes into the game as the Bison scored on their first five possessions.  Bethany maintained that lead at 16-8 before the Golden Tornadoes went on a 12-4 run, capped off by a 3-pointer from sophomore R.J. Bell (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan), to even the score at 20-20.  Geneva took its first lead of the game just a minute later, 24-22, on a layup from senior Danny Torok (Grove City, Pa./Grove City), and sophomore Mark Burkholder (Maysville, W.Va./Petersburg) finished the half off with a 3-pointer with one second remaining to give Geneva a 28-24 lead going into the break.

Geneva kept the Bison at arm's length in the second half.  Sophomore Noah Damazo (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) scored Geneva's first seven points of the half, and for the next 15 minutes the Geneva lead stayed between five and nine points.  The Golden Tornadoes finally stretched the margin out to double digits when junior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) converted a 3-point play to give Geneva a 59-49 lead with less than three minutes remaining, and the Golden Tornadoes held on from there for the 63-52 victory.

"It was a gutsy effort from our guys tonight, even if it wasn't the prettiest game," Santarsiero said.  "With Eric getting hurt right at the start, we had to really adjust on the fly and go to our bench early.  Noah really gave us a lift, but several guys really stepped up off the bench and contributed to this win.  Any time you can get a win on the road in conference, you are always pleased, but we still know there's a lot we need to improve upon."

Geneva was led by Damazo and Moose, who both finished with 15 points.  Nine different Golden Tornadoes scored, including five off the bench who managed to outscore the starters on the evening.  Geneva shot 40% from the floor, winning the game on the defensive end as it held the Bison to just 28% shooting, including 3-of-17 (18%) shooting from 3-point range.  Bethany was led by Trey Shifflett's 12 points.

Geneva returns home on Saturday as it hosts Washington & Jefferson at 3:00 p.m.  It's the first of three straight home games for the Golden Tornadoes.


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.