WAYNESBURG, Pa. – What a week it's been for the Geneva College men's basketball team.  A week after defeating W&J on a jumper at the buzzer by freshman Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian), Geneva did it again at Waynesburg on Wednesday night when senior Nick Rusyn (Salem, Ohio/Salem) tipped in a missed shot with just over two seconds remaining to lift Geneva to a dramatic 65-63 victory.  It's the Golden Tornadoes fifth straight victory, and the win improved Geneva's record to 10-10 overall, 6-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Waynesburg fell to 4-17, 4-8 in the PAC.

Waynesburg got on the board first in this matchup, and five minutes into the game the Yellow Jackets had built a 10-4 lead.  Geneva suffered an early blow when senior starter Noah Damazo (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) had to leave the game in the opening minute due to an injury, and he did not return.  Despite that, the Golden Tornadoes closed to within two points, 12-10, after sophomore Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) scored a three-pointer and a layup on consecutive possessions, but three minutes later Waynesburg pushed the lead back out to 22-14, its biggest of the game.

Tipton answered that deficit with back-to-back baskets, and three-pointer by junior Joel Stutz (Evans City, Pa./Butler County Community) and a layup by Rusyn brought Geneva even, 26-26, with four minutes remaining in the half.  Senior Ethan Moose (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) gave Geneva a 33-32 lead with a free throw heading into the halftime break.

Waynesburg opened the second half with a small run to regain the lead, 38-35.  Sophomore Matt Veynovich (Pompono Beach, Fla./Highlands Academy) answered with a three-pointer to even the score, and a minute later he hit another three-pointer to give Geneva a 41-38 lead, but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't pull away.

Over the final ten minutes Geneva never trailed, but the Yellow Jackets refused to go away.  The Golden Tornadoes looked to be in great shape when Rusyn's jumper rattled home with 2:32 remaining to give Geneva a 62-54 lead, its biggest of the game, but Waynesburg had one last run.  Over the next two minutes of action, the Yellow Jackets went on a 9-1 run to even the score at 63-63 with just over 30 seconds remaining.

Geneva brought the ball down the court on its final possession, calling a timeout with just five seconds remaining.  On the in-bounds play, Moose missed a short jumper, but Rusyn came flying in to tip home the game-winning basket with just over two seconds remaining, and Waynesburg's half-court shot at the buzzer came up short, giving Geneva another last second victory, 65-63.

"I'm just so happy for these guys," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero.  "Their hard work and commitment to playing as a team is really paying off for our players.  Our guys really rallied together tonight after losing Noah early, and to pick up a win like this, on the road, is really special.  On our final play, we looked to our two seniors, Ethan and Nick, to make a play, and Nick stepped up with a huge tip-in.  I'm just really happy for our program and these guys, and now we look forward to a huge game on Saturday against Grove City."

Veynovich and Moose each finished with 15 points to lead Geneva.  Veynovich scored all his points on five three-pointers, while Moose grabbed 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.  Luptak added 12 points, while Rusyn finished with 10 points.  The Golden Tornadoes shot 39% from the floor and outrebounded Waynesburg 47-35.  Frank Bozicevic had a game-high 17 points to lead the Yellow Jackets.

The victory sets up a big game on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against Grove City, when Geneva will be hosting a Pack the Gym Night at Metheny Fieldhouse.  Grove City is in first place in the PAC with a 10-2 record, two games better than the next team in the conference.


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.