DEFIANCE, Ohio – In what proved to be a high scoring affair, the Geneva College men's basketball team's late comeback attempt fell short against Heidelberg University on Saturday afternoon, 93-87, in the consolation game of the 44^th Annual Purple & Gold Tournament at Defiance College.  Despite the loss, junior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) surpassed 1,000 career points with a bucket in the second half.  Heidelberg improved to 4-7, while Geneva fell to 5-6.

Heidelberg jumped ahead early against Geneva.  After a bucket from senior Danny Torok (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) tied the score at 2-2, Heidelberg scored seven straight points to take a 9-2 lead, using a full court press to give Geneva trouble.  The Golden Tornadoes closed to within 9-7 on a layup from Moose, but Heidelberg extended the lead to 24-11 with a 15-4 run.  Geneva could never figure out how to slow down their fast-paced opponent, and Heidelberg stretched its lead to as much as 18 points, 36-18, before taking a 49-34 lead to halftime.  Junior Nick Rusyn (Salem, Ohio/Salem) led the offense with 11 points in the first half.

Heidelberg took its biggest lead of the game five minutes into the second half, 62-39.  However, bolstered by a balanced offensive attack that saw six Golden Tornadoes finish in double figures, including sophomore R.J. Bell's (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan) hot shooting off the bench, Geneva scored 11 straight points, capped off by a 3-pointer from Bell with 11 minutes remaining to close within 62-50.  Heidelberg responded by stretching the lead back to 80-58 with six minutes remaining, appearing to put the game away.  To Geneva's credit, it didn't give up, using a late run to get within five points, but the Golden Tornadoes eventually ran out of time in losing, 93-87. 

"That is, from top to bottom, the best team we have played all year," Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero said.  "We played much better in the second half.  We need to eliminate mistakes in key moments, though.  But I'm again proud of the team for not quitting when we were down 23 points.  Now it's time for conference play.

"As far as Ethan is concerned, I'm really happy for him and his accomplishments, especially surpassing 1,000 points as only a junior.  He could go down as one of the best to ever wear a Geneva uniform."

Moose was named to the All-Tournament team after finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds, his third straight double-double and fifth on the season.  Bell led the team in scoring with a career-high 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.  Torok and senior Eric McGee (Tampa, Fl./Seffner Christian) both scored 15 points, while Rusyn added 13 points and senior David Oliver (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) 10 points.  Geneva shot 48% from the floor, including 7-of-15 from deep.  Heidelberg shot 50% and was led by Myron Prewitt who finished with a game-high 25 points.

Geneva returns to Presidents' Athletic Conference action on Thursday, January 3, when it hosts Grove City for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.


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.