BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team welcomed a familiar foe to Metheny Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon, former Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) member Thomas More University.  The game was close until midway through the second half when the Saints put together a big run to blow the game open, and Thomas More left town with an 89-64 victory.  Thomas More improved to 14-7, while Geneva fell to 8-11.

Geneva jumped out to an early lead, going up 11-6 on a jumper from junior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock).  It would prove to be Geneva's biggest lead of the game.  Thomas More battled back and took its first lead of the game, 18-16, on a 3-pointer from Ryne Callahan.  The Saints continued to keep the pressure up, and another jumper from Callahan pushed their lead to 31-22.  Moose did his best to keep the Golden Tornadoes in it, and the junior ended up scoring Geneva's final 17 points of the first half.  Despite Moose's effort, Thomas More took a 48-39 lead to the break.  Moose finished the half with 23 points.

Geneva cut into that deficit early in the second half.  Trailing 52-43, the Golden Tornadoes when on a 9-2 run to close to within 54-52 on two free throws from senior Matt Dragan (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) with just over 14 minutes remaining.  From there it was all Thomas More.  Over the next 11 minutes, the Saints outscored Geneva 33-4, taking an 87-56 lead with 3:30 remaining.  Thomas More finished out the win, 89-64.

"This is the same Thomas More we've known over the years," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero.  "They're very efficient offensively, and they can score in bunches.  They went on that big run in the second half after we cut it to two, and we just couldn't keep it going.  Ethan was really good tonight, but he needs some help.  It will be good for us to get back into conference play on Wednesday with a big game at Waynesburg."

Moose finished with a game-high 27 points and eight rebounds, though the Saints made things much more difficult on him in the second half.  Junior Noah Damazo (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) finished with 11 points.  The Golden Tornadoes ended up shooting just 37%.  Thomas More finished at 57%.  Callahan led the Saints with 19 points.

Geneva returns to PAC action on Wednesday when the Golden Tornadoes travel to Waynesburg for a 7:30 p.m. start time.


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.