BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Metheny Fieldhouse has not proven to be a place where this year's Geneva College men's basketball team has found a lot of success in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action so far this year, and Wednesday night was much the same as the Golden Tornadoes gave up a big first half run against Chatham and could never recover, losing 74-68.  The Golden Tornadoes are now 1-3 at home in the conference, while having won both of their conference games on the road.  Chatham improved to 10-5, 4-3 in the PAC, while Geneva fell 6-8, 3-3 in the PAC.

The game started well for Geneva, as junior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) scored six early points to help the Golden Tornadoes take a 12-6 lead just over five minutes into the game.  However, over the next six minutes, Chatham scored 18 straight points as Geneva could not find any offensive success.  Geneva did manage to cut the deficit to five points, 27-22, after another bucket from Moose, but Chatham did not allow the Golden Tornadoes any closer in taking a 35-29 halftime lead.  Moose led the offense with 13 points.

Geneva's struggles continued early into the second half, and Chatham took full advantage in building its biggest lead of the game, 54-38, with 12:41 remaining.  Despite appearing to be out of the game, Geneva fought back behind a spark off the bench from sophomore R.J. Bell (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan).  Bell scored 11 second half points, including three 3-pointers, as Geneva managed to cut the deficit all the way down to four points, 63-59, with 4:33 remaining, after senior David Oliver (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) converted a traditional three-point play.  However, Geneva would not get any closer, as the Golden Tornadoes could not get the stops they needed down the stretch, and Chatham made enough free throws to hold on for the 74-68 victory.

"This was a very disappointing loss," a frustrated Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero said afterwards.  "We continue to make the same mistakes, and we have to get better, starting tomorrow at practice."

Moose finished with 19 points and nine rebounds to lead Geneva.  Bell finished with 11 points, while Oliver and senior Eric McGee (Tampa, Fl./Seffner Christian) each added 10 points.  Geneva outrebounded Chatham, 39-30, but a big difference in the game was 3-point shooting.  The Golden Tornadoes made just 5-of-18 compared to 11-of-28 shooting from deep for Chatham, who came in as the top 3-point shooting team in the conference.  Chatham was led by Will Sandherr's game-high 21 points.

Geneva travels to Saint Vincent on Saturday for a 6:00 p.m. tipoff against the first place Bearcats.


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.