GROVE CITY, Pa. – If it is hard to beat a team three times in one season, that belief didn't seem to impact Grove City on Tuesday night against the Geneva men's basketball team in the first round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs. Geneva dug itself a huge hole, and despite a late comeback attempt, the Wolverines ended the Golden Tornadoes' season with their third straight win against Geneva this year, 81-75. Geneva's season finishes at 9-17, while Grove City continues on to the PAC semifinals.
Geneva's only lead of the game came early when junior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) hit a jumper to give the Golden Tornadoes a 4-3 lead. The lead did not last long, though, as Grove City proceeded to go on a 14-5 run to take a 17-9 lead. Geneva would close to within 19-17 after senior Eric McGee (Tampa, Fl./Seffner Christian) converted a three-point play, but that would be as close as Geneva would get the rest of the game.
Geneva went ice cold over the next seven minutes, failing to make a shot from the floor, and Grove City took advantage with a 13-2 run to go ahead 32-19, its biggest lead of the half. Geneva's only points during that stretch came from the free throw line. The Golden Tornadoes could not cut into that deficit much before halftime, going into the break staring at a 40-29 deficit. McGee led the team offensively with eight points.
Geneva managed a short spurt coming out of halftime, closing to within 42-35, but things unraveled over the next ten minutes. Grove City scored the next nine points of the game on its way to a 54-36 lead with 13 minutes remaining. Grove City's lead would grow to as much as 22 points, and the Wolverines still led 72-55 with just over five minutes remaining. At that point, Geneva put together one last furious run in an effort to save its season, slicing the deficit to four points, 76-72, with 45 seconds remaining after McGee hit a 3-pointer. However, Geneva eventually ran out of time, and Grove City made enough free throws in the closing minute to hold on for the 81-75 victory.
"I'm proud of our season," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "I don't feel like our record is indicative of the type of team we had this year. We struggled at times to make shots from the perimeter, but we always battled hard. In some ways, this is a microcosm of our season. I do want to thank our seniors for all their hard work and dedication over the last four years. They will be missed."
McGee led the team in the final game of his career with 18 points. Junior Nick Rusyn (Salem, Ohio/Salem) added 14 points, while junior Noah Damazo (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) finished with 11 points. Moose grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Geneva shot just 37% from the floor. Grove City shot 43%, and the Wolverines did significant damage from the free throw line, converting 30-of-38 attempts (79%) compared to 15-of-25 (60%) shooting for the Golden Tornadoes. James Wells scored a game-high 19 points to lead Grove City, who will play Westminster in the semifinals of the PAC playoffs.
The loss was a disappointing end to a season that began with high expectations. Geneva was picked third in the PAC preseason poll, but the Golden Tornadoes struggled in close games throughout the year, with 12 of their 17 losses coming by eight points or less.
Geneva returns a strong group of seniors next year, led by Moose, a First Team All-PAC performer, along with Damazo and Rusyn, who both had strong junior seasons. Coach Santarsiero will have to find replacements in his backcourt with the loss of starting guards McGee and David Oliver (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) to graduation, along with part-time starting guard Danny Torok (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) and forward Matt Dragan (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe).
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.
