BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team used a very balanced attack against the Thiel Tomcats on Wednesday evening to cruise to a big victory, 83-62.  Geneva won for the second straight time to improve its record to 7-10 overall, 3-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Thiel fell to 4-11, 3-5 in the PAC.

Thiel opened the scoring on the opening possession of the game, but its lead would be short-lived.  Senior Noah Damazo (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) nailed a three-pointer on Geneva's opening possession, and a minute later sophomore Matt Veynovich (Pompono Beach, Fla./Highlands Academy) knocked down a three-pointer of his own, giving the Golden Tornadoes an 8-5 lead, a lead they would never relinquish.

Back-to-back three-pointers by freshman Isaac Massie (Cross Lanes, W.Va./Homeschool) and junior Joel Stutz (Evans City, Pa./Butler County Community) pushed Geneva's lead to 18-10, and the Tomcats never got closer than four points the rest of the game.  A layup by senior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) with 5:56 remaining in the half pushed Geneva's lead to double-digits, 32-21.  After Thiel answered with a bucket, Geneva scored the final nine points of the half to blow the game open, 41-24, heading into halftime. Senior Nick Rusyn (Salem, Ohio/Salem) led the offense with nine points in the half, as nine different Golden Tornadoes go on the scoreboard.

Thiel continued to struggle offensively in the second half against Geneva's aggressive man-to-man defense.  The Tomcats could never gain any sort of momentum offensively, and they struggled defensively to keep Geneva in check, with the Golden Tornadoes getting contributions for a multitude of players.  A jumper from Moose two minutes into the half pushed the lead over 20 points, 47-26, and it never dipped below that number until the final minute of the game.  Geneva took its biggest lead of the game, 65-35, on a layup from sophomore Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) with 11:48 left in the game, and the game was never in doubt from there.  The Golden Tornadoes finished off the victory, 83-62.

"Tonight was a great team win," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero.  "We really locked in defensively, especially in the first half, which is probably one of the better defensive halves we've played this season.  I'm also proud of how well we shared the ball on the offensive end.  Nick Rusyn continues to play really well, and when he gives us that kind of presence in the interior, we can be a real threat in this conference.  We've got some momentum going right now, but we have to continue that when we head out onto the road on Saturday at Bethany."

Rusyn led the offense with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, as eleven different Golden Tornadoes got on the scoreboard.  Damazo and Stutz each added 11 points.  Moose finished with six points, seven rebounds, a season-high seven assists, five steals and three blocks.  Geneva shot 46% from the floor and held Thiel to 39%, including a 34% effort in the first half.

The Golden Tornadoes head to Bethany on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff before returning home next Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with W&J.


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.