BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday afternoon on the second day of the Coaches vs Cancer Tipoff Classic to visiting Albion College.  The Britons got hot from long range and never let up in a 91-66 victory over the Golden Tornadoes.  Albion improved to 2-3, while Geneva dropped to 2-1.

Albion came into the game with the reputation as a team early in the season that played a physical defensive style of basketball, but not a team that had shot well from the perimeter in its first four games of the season.  In fact, Albion had made just 17-of-66 (25.7%) shots from three-point range in its first four games, including a 1-of-14 performance from long range a day earlier against Grove City.  It was Geneva that actually came into the game with reputation as a strong outside shooting team, but the roles were completely reversed Saturday afternoon.

Junior Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) hit back-to-back jumpers in the opening minutes to give Geneva an early 4-2 lead in what proved to be a very physical matchup early on.  Geneva still led 9-8 six minutes into the game when the Britons went on a big run, with Albion's MJ Barnes hiting back-to-back three-pointers to get things started. 

Albion's run continued for the next five minutes, with the Britons hitting shots from all over the court, and by the time the run was over, the Britons led 25-11 after a 17-2 stretch.  Albion extended its lead to 39-21 on another three-pointer before finishing out the half with a 42-25 lead.  Albion shot 51.4% from the floor, making six three-pointers, while Geneva shot just 31.3% from the floor, including a 1-for-11 effort from long range.

The second half only brought more of the same from the Britons, who never slowed down offensively.  Another three-pointer three minutes into the half extended Albion's lead to 53-29.  Geneva refused to give in, though, with Tipton and junior Ryan Rachic (Prince Frederick, Calvert) leading the way, along with senior Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley), who saw his first real playing time of the season after just finishing up football last weekend.  The Golden Tornadoes pulled within 13 points, 69-56, on a jumper from Tipton with just over eight minutes remaining, but true to form, Albion responded with another three-pointer, and Geneva never got any closer.  The Britons pulled away late to finish with their biggest margin of the game at the final buzzer, 91-66.

Tipton and Rachic again led the offense, as the duo has done all season.  Tipton finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals.  Rachic had his third straight double-double in as many games, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.  Luptak added 11 points as the only other Golden Tornado in double figures.  Geneva finished the game 24-of-64 (37.5%) from the floor, including a very uncharacteristic 3-of-22 (13.6%) effort from three-point range.  Tipton was named to the All-Tournament team.

Albion, on the other hand, shot 35-of-67 (52.2%) from the floor, including a 14-of-29 (48.3%) performance from long range, making almost as many three-pointers as the Britons had hit in their first four games combined.  Cortez Garland led the team with 22 points, while MJ Barnes, who was named the MVP of the tipoff, added 21 points.

"Albion just shot the lights out," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero.  "They didn't come into the game as a strong shooting team from the perimeter, but they looked great against us.  We tried to adjust in the second half, and it didn't make any difference.  I was proud of the way our guys battled all game, though, and we never gave in.  We shot really poorly all night, but we found a way in the second half to make a run and give ourselves a shot.  Ultimately, though, we just could never get the defensive stops we needed or make our perimeter shots.  Give Albion credit for the way they played.  Things are only going to get tougher next week."

The Golden Tornadoes travel to #3 ranked Marietta on Tuesday night for a 7:00 p.m. matchup in what will likely be the best team Geneva has faced since playing at Division I Robert Morris two seasons ago.  The following week the Golden Tornadoes begin Presidents' Athletic Conference play with a road game at Thiel.

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 has one of the top 100 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. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and IACE (International Association for Christian Education).