BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team opened Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play on Wednesday evening with a big win over a struggling Bethany squad, 71-47.  Geneva even its records at 4-4 overall, 1-0 in the PAC, while Bethany dropped to 0-7, 0-1 in the PAC.

Geneva actually opened the game quite cold, unable to score until sophomore Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) hit a jumper almost four minutes into the game.  It was Luptak's first start of the season after missing most of the first three weeks of the season recovering from an injury he sustained as Geneva's starting quarterback in the football team's final game of the year.  Neither team could do much offensively early on, though, as eight minutes into the first half Bethany led 9-8. 

A three-pointer from junior Joel Stutz (Evans City, Pa./Butler County Community College) finally gave some life to the Golden Tornadoes' offense, and after junior AJ Stroop (Hillsboro, Ohio/Lynchburg-Clay) hit back-to-back buckets, Geneva increased its lead to 24-14 with 6:22 remaining in the half.  That's where things stayed after senior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) finally got on the scoreboard just before halftime to give Geneva a 30-20 lead at the break.  Stroop had eight points in the half to lead the Golden Tornadoes.

Bethany opened the second half with a bucket, but Geneva responded with seven straight points, the final four points on two straight baskets by Luptak, to build its lead to 37-22, and the lead never got under double-digits again.

The Bison did close to 48-36 with 8:22 remaining in the game, but Geneva answered with a 14-3 run after Stutz hit back-to-back three-pointers, and the game was never in doubt over the final five minutes.  Geneva cruised from there to pick up the 71-47 victory.

The Golden Tornadoes had a very balanced offensive attack on the night.  Moose finished with another double-double, contributing 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.  Stutz also added 11 points.  Luptak and senior Noah Damazo (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) each scored 10 points, while Stroop and senior Nick Rusyn (Salem, Ohio/Salem) scored eight points apiece.  Geneva was particularly good on the defensive end, holding Bethany to just 16-of-61 shooting (26%) from the floor, while outrebounding the Bison 42-34.

"It's always important to open PAC play with a victory," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero.  "It wasn't our best game by any means, as we didn't really shoot the ball particularly well.  The job we did defensively, though, was really good, giving up only 47 points.  Almost every shot they took was challenged, and we rebounded better tonight.  Amos definitely gave us some good minutes in his first real action of the season, and Joel shot it pretty well from deep.  Now we head out onto the road to face a very good W&J team on Saturday."

Geneva will finish out its first semester on Saturday with a road game at Washington & Jefferson at 3:00 p.m.


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 115 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 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.