BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team knew it would be in for a difficult game when the undefeated Chatham Cougars came to town on Saturday afternoon.  In a game with big swings back and forth, senior Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) and juniors Ryan Rachic (Prince Frederick, Md./Calvert) and Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) had huge games for the Golden Tornadoes, especially down the stretch, to enable Geneva hold on for a dramatic 81-79 victory that was only secured with Chatham's three-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim.  Geneva improved 4-2 overall, 2-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Chatham dropped to 6-1 overall, 2-1 in the PAC.

The game couldn't have started much better for the Golden Tornadoes.  Tipton had nine points, and Luptak and Rachic each added buckets, as Geneva took a 13-2 lead just four minutes into the game, with each Golden Tornado basket coming in the paint.  Back-to-back three-pointers from Luptak and Rachic kept the margin at 12 points, 19-7, two minutes later.

Geneva went cold, though, over the next several minutes, and the Cougars slowly chipped away at the Geneva lead.  In fact, over the next ten minutes Chatham went on a 26-9 run to take a 33-28 lead with just over three minutes remaining before the half.

The Golden Tornadoes closed the half well, though.  Freshman Trevor Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) hit a three-pointer to get Geneva going.  Lyle Tipton knocked down two free throws, Luptak hit a jumper, and Rachic hit a corner three-pointer as the Golden Tornadoes scored the final ten points of the half to take a 38-33 lead into the halftime break.  Lyle Tipton had 12 points, Luptak 11 points and Rachic 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead Geneva.

Lyle Tipton scored on a layup out of the break, and a moment later junior Isaac Massie (Cross Lanes, W.Va./Homeschool) knocked down a three-pointer to give Geneva a 43-35 lead.  The Golden Tornadoes eventually extended their lead to ten points, 55-45, after a three-pointer by senior Mike Melewski (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) and a free throw from Luptak.  As happened in the first half, though, Geneva went cold again, and Chatham took advantage.

The Cougars steadily pulled back into the game, tying the score back up at 59-59 with seven minutes to go, and Chatham retook the lead for the first time in the half, 64-61, on a three-pointer from Nick Bomar with six minutes remaining.  A few minutes later, a three-pointer from Malik Potter, Chatham's leading scorer, gave the Cougars a 75-71 lead with just over two minutes remaining.

Geneva refused to give in, though.  With Chatham holding the momentum, the Golden Tornadoes closed well again, just as they did in the first half.  Luptak hit a huge three-pointer, his second in a row for Geneva, and after a defensive stop, Rachic was fouled and knocked down both free throws to give the Golden Tornadoes the lead back, 76-75, with 1:35 left.

The lead went back-and-forth over the final minute and a half.  Chatham hit a bucket, but Rachic responded with a basket in the paint with less than a minute to go.  The Cougars knocked down two free throws with 42 seconds remaining to give Chatham a 79-78 lead.  Lyle Tipton then made the key play of the game.  After Luptak missed a short shot and Potter got the rebound, Tipton stole the ball from Potter and laid it in with 18 seconds remaining.

Chatham quickly brought the ball down the court, but Brandon Lavernia's layup with seven seconds remaining missed, and Lyle Tipton grabbed the rebound and was fouled.  He converted one of two free throws, and Chatham brought the ball down the court and called timeout at midcourt with 4.7 seconds left.  After the timeout, the Cougars inbounded the ball to Potter, whose step-back three-pointer with a hand in his face at the buzzer banged off the rim, securing the 81-79 Geneva victory and setting off a celebration from the big student crowd.

Luptak finished with a career-high 26 points, on 9-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range, while adding a team-high five assists.  Lyle Tipton added 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.  Rachic contributed 20 points, on 8-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-3 from long range, and a career-high 16 rebounds.  Geneva shot 29-of-55 (52.7%) from the floor, including 8-of-22 (36.4%) from three-point range.  The biggest blemish for the Golden Tornadoes was their 15-of-24 (62.5%) effort from the free throw line, along with their 14 turnovers.  Geneva also outrebounded Chatham 39-34.

Potter led three Cougars in double figures with 21 points.  Chatham finished 29-of-70 (41.4%) from the floor, including 7-of-23 (30.4%) from three-point range, though the Cougars hit 14-of-18 (77.8%) from the foul line.  Chatham only committed nine turnovers.

"This team just finds a gear in the game sometimes, especially when we need it late," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero.  "We really didn't execute all that well at times today, especially in the second half.  We obviously knew they were a very strong team and hadn't lost yet.  Despite some sloppiness at times, though, we executed down the stretch.  Amos, Lyle and Ryan really carried us all day, but we got contributions from other guys, too.  Mike hit a big shot, and Isaac gave us some good minutes too.  To win that game against an undefeated Chatham team when Matt (Veynovich) had such an off night and didn't score a point, that says a lot about this team."

Geneva gets a week off before heading to Westminster for a big early-season showdown next Saturday with the preseason PAC favorite Titans.  Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m.

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).