BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Despite leading for almost the entire game, the Geneva College men's basketball team lost on Wednesday night after Saint Vincent College hit a shot with five seconds remaining to pull off the comeback victory, 69-68, in a physical battle in Metheny Fieldhouse.  Saint Vincent improved to 20-4, 13-2 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while the loss was the sixth straight for Geneva, dropping the Golden Tornadoes to 8-16, 5-10 in the PAC.

Things started well for Geneva against the Bearcats, who had already clinched the PAC regular season title.  A jumper from junior Noah Damazo (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) put Geneva up 8-2 just over two minutes into the game.  The Golden Tornadoes would eventually stretch their lead to 19-9, the biggest of the game, with ten minutes remaining in the half on a jumper from junior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock). 

Geneva began to battle foul trouble, though, as the game proved to be one of the most physical of the year.  Despite finishing the half with five players, including three starters, on the bench in foul trouble, the Golden Tornadoes still managed a 36-29 lead going into the break.  Moose had 14 points at that point.

The fouls continued to pile up on Geneva, though, as junior Nick Rusyn (Salem, Ohio/Salem) and senior Matt Dragan (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) picked up early fouls in the second half, leaving Geneva thin on the inside, and Saint Vincent's all-conference forward Tom Kromka took advantage.  The Bearcats fed him often, and they slowly chipped away at Geneva's lead.  When Kromka scored with seven minutes remaining, Saint Vincent took its first lead of the game, 57-56. 

The lead was short-lived, though, as Moose responded with four quick points to put Geneva back ahead, 60-57.  The Golden Tornadoes could never put any distance between them and the Bearcats the rest of the game, though, as Saint Vincent kept the game close.  A jumper from Damazo with just under a minute remaining gave Geneva a 68-65 lead.  Kromka scored on Saint Vincent's next possession, and after a Bearcat defensive stop, Shemar Bennett drove the lane and scored, along with a foul, with five seconds to go to put Saint Vincent back ahead.  Bennett missed the free throw, but a running jumper from senior Eric McGee (Tampa, Fl./Seffner Christian) missed at the buzzer, giving Geneva a heartbreaking loss, 69-68. 

"I was really proud of our team's effort tonight," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero.  "We had to battle foul trouble all night against the best team in our conference.  Despite all that, we had our chances, but we gave up a couple offensive rebounds down the stretch that really hurt us.  I couldn't ask for anything more from our team tonight, though.  Now we get ready for Thiel on Saturday."

Moose led the offense with 28 points and 11 rebounds.  He also picked up six steals.  Damazo added 11 points, while sophomore Mark Burkholder (Maysville, W. Va./Petersburg) came off the bench to contribute a career-high 11 points.  Both teams shot almost identical shooting percentages at just over 40%.  The biggest difference came at the foul stripe, where Saint Vincent converted 19-of-30 attempts while Geneva made 13-of-20.  Kromka finished the game with 32 points and 17 rebound to lead the Bearcats.  The Bearcats led for just 46 seconds of the game, but they found a way to pull it out at the end.

Geneva finishes its regular season on Saturday when it hosts Thiel College at 7:30 p.m. for Senior Day.  Depending on the outcome of that game, Geneva will find out where it travels next Tuesday for the first round of the PAC Playoffs.


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.