WAYNESBURG, Pa. – In a game that was tight throughout, the Geneva College men's basketball team lost at Waynesburg University in the closing minute, 72-67, as Waynesburg finished the game on a 6-1 run over the last 35 seconds to secure the win.  Waynesburg improved to 6-14, 5-7 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Geneva fell to 8-12, 5-6 in the PAC.
 
After Waynesburg got out to a 10-6 lead early, Geneva scored the next eight points to take its biggest lead of the game, 14-10.  The game went back and forth from there, with neither team leading by more than four points the rest of the first half.  After senior Eric McGee (Tampa, Fl./Seffner Christian) converted a 3-point play with 28 seconds left in the half, Geneva closed to within 32-31 heading into the halftime break.
 
Waynesburg put together a spurt early in the second half to go up 47-39, the biggest lead for either team in the game.  Geneva scored six straight points in response, closing the deficit to 47-45, and the game stayed close from there.  Waynesburg looked to be taking control, going up 64-59, with three minutes remaining.  However, two 3-pointers from junior Noah Damazo (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) sandwiched around two free throws from McGee tied things up at 66-66 with just over a minute remaining. 
 
Geneva got a stop on its next possession and had the ball with less than a minute to go, but an illegal screen on Geneva gave Waynesburg the ball back, and the Yellow Jackets took advantage with a bucket to go back up.  On Geneva's ensuing possession, junior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) was fouled and went to the line with 24 seconds remaining with an opportunity to tie things back up.  Moose converted just one of the two free throws, though, forcing Geneva to foul, and Waynesburg made all four of its free throws down the stretch to hold on for the victory, 72-67.

"This feels like Groundhog Day," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero.  "We get to key moments in games when we need to either get stops or make shots, and we come up short.  We were in good position to get a good road win and we came up five points short."
 
Moose led the offense with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while also grabbing nine rebounds.  McGee finished with 12 points, with Damazo and senior David Oliver (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) each adding ten points.  Geneva shot 43% compared to 44% for Waynesburg, with Geneva outrebounding Waynesburg 35-33.  Brennan Smith led Waynesburg with 19 points, including the game-winning layup with 35 seconds remaining.
 
On Saturday Geneva heads to Grove City for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff before returning home next Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. start time against Westminster.


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.