WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team traveled to Washington & Jefferson on Saturday afternoon with the chance to pick up an impressive road win early in the season, but after a close score at halftime, the Presidents used a big run in the second half to cruise to victory, 73-58. W&J improved to 6-3 overall, 1-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Geneva fell to 4-5, 1-1 in the PAC.
In the first minute, Geneva took what would prove to be its only lead of the game after junior
Joel Stutz (Evans City, Pa./Butler County Community) drained a three-pointer to give the Golden Tornadoes an early 3-2 lead. W&J answered with eight straight points to take a 10-3 lead, forcing Geneva to play catch-up the rest of the half. The Presidents found success against Geneva's zone defense from deep, making five three-pointers in the game's first 12 minutes to take a 29-17 lead. However, with Geneva trailing 30-19 with five minutes remaining, the Golden Tornadoes, led by senior
Noah Damazo (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk), finished the half on a 13-3 run, with Damazo's bank shot at the buzzer pulling Geneva to within 33-32 at the break. Damazo finished the first half with 14 points.
Things stayed close early in the second half, and when Damazo converted a three-point play, it pulled Geneva to within 42-41 with 13 minutes remaining. Unfortunately, things fell apart from there. Another three-pointer from W&J started a huge Presidents run, and over the next seven minutes, W&J outscored Geneva 19-2, taking a commanding 61-43 lead. The Golden Tornadoes had five turnovers and went 1-of-5 from the floor during that pivotal stretch, effectively ending any chance Geneva had of the road victory. The Golden Tornadoes tried to rally late, with Stutz hitting back-to-back three-pointers followed by a three-pointer from sophomore
Matt Veynovich (Pompono Beach, Fla./Highlands Academy), but the hole was too big to dig out of as W&J finished off the 73-58 victory.
Damazo led Geneva's offense with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. Stutz added 12 points, all on three-point shots. W&J held senior
Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock), who came into the contest as the leading scorer in the PAC at 20.4 points per game, in check with just six points. Moose did grab 11 rebounds. Senior
Nick Rusyn (Salem, Ohio/Salem) also grabbed 11 rebounds while adding eight points. It was a tough day for Geneva's bench, who didn't score until Veynovich's three-pointer with five minutes remaining. Geneva shot just 34% from the floor, while W&J made 48% of its shots. W&J's Zach Queen led a balanced Presidents attack with 15 points, including four three-pointers.
"When you don't shoot the ball well and can't get stops on the road, that combination will usually lead to a loss," said Head Coach
Jeff Santarsiero. "Give credit to W&J for having a good game plan today. We are looking forward to this next week of practice to gear up for our trip to Florida and the rest of the PAC season."
Geneva will return to action in two weeks when it heads to Florida to participate in the West Palm Beach Tournament hosted by Oglethorpe University. The Golden Tornadoes will face the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Friday, December 20, at 7:00 p.m. followed by a second game on Saturday, December 21, at either 1:00 p.m. or 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.
