NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team found itself facing a big early deficit on the road at Westminster on Wednesday night, and the mountain eventually proved too much to overcome as the Golden Tornadoes fell 79-71.  Westminster improved to 13-10 overall, 8-6 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Geneva fell to 10-12, 6-7 in the PAC.

Sophomore Matt Veynovich (Pompono Beach, Fla./Highlands Academy) hit an early three-pointer to pull Geneva to within 4-3 just over a minute into the game, and another three-pointer by Veynovich closed the early deficit to 14-11.  However, Westminster scored the next nine points to take a 23-11 lead, and the Titans eventually stretched their lead to 33-17 with nine minutes remaining until halftime.

A three-pointer by freshman Isaac Massie (Crosslanes, W.Va./Homeschool) got the Geneva offense started, though, and it led to a strong run for the Golden Tornadoes.  Over the next six minutes, Geneva went on an 18-4 run, and when junior RJ Bell (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan) hit a three-pointer with 2:40 remaining, Geneva pulled within 37-35.  However, Westminster's Dylan O'Hara, the PAC's leading scorer, continued to be a problem for Geneva, and he hit a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to push Westminster lead back to seven, 44-37.

Senior Nick Rusyn (Salem, Ohio/Salem) opened the second half with a bucket, but Westminster answered with eight straight points to extend its lead back to double digits, 52-39.  Geneva got to within 59-53 with nine minutes remaining on another three-pointer by Massie, but that was as close as the Golden Tornadoes would get.  The rest of the game saw Westminster hold a lead between 8-12 points, and Geneva couldn't put together another run to get closer than that, eventually losing 79-71.

Senior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) led four players in double figures with 16 points.  Sophomore Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) added 12 points, while Massie and freshman Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) each finished with 11 points, which for Massie was a career-high.  Geneva shot 45% from the floor, including an 8-of-21 (38%) effort from three-point range.  Westminster proved to be a two-man wrecking crew for most of the night, with O'Hara and Isaac Stamatiades finishing with 36 and 22 points, respectively.  No other Titan had more than seven points, with Westminster shooting 54% from the floor.

"We didn't play with the right intensity at the start, and it really cost us," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero.  "They shot the ball really well, especially early, and other than Matt, we came out cold.  Ultimately, we just couldn't figure out a way to stop O'Hara tonight, who will probably be the player of the year in this conference.  But I'm proud of the way our guys, especially our young guys, really battled all game despite trailing virtually the whole game.  They never gave up, and that's a good sign to see."

Geneva will finish out the home portion of its regular season on Saturday when the Golden Tornadoes host Chatham at 3:00 p.m. for Senior Day.  Geneva will honor its seniors, Moose, Rusyn, Noah Damazo (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) and Matthew Partridge (Sandy Lake, Pa./Lakeview) before the game.


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 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva is included on Kiplinger's Personal Finance's "2019 Best College Values" list and has one of the top undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. 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.