BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – It had been almost a year since the Geneva College men's basketball team tasted victory.  After the Golden Tornadoes season was pushed back two weeks because of a COVID case, Geneva finally got into the win column with a comeback 78-72 win over visiting Waynesburg on Monday night in Metheny Fieldhouse.  Geneva evened its record at 1-1, 1-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Waynesburg fell to 0-2, 0-2 in the PAC.

Waynesburg opened the game with the first four points for either team.  Senior AJ Stroop (Hillsboro, Ohio/Lynchburg-Clay) finally got Geneva on the board two minutes into the game, converting a three-point play.  However, the Golden Tornadoes struggled to contain Waynesburg's All-PAC performer Isaiah Alonzo for most of the half.  The Yellow Jackets' big man scored 14 points in the first 13 minutes of the half, and his jumper with 6:44 remaining before the break gave Waynesburg its biggest lead of the night, 28-19.

However, Geneva answered with eight straight points.  Junior Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) scored on back-to-back layups, and senior Joel Stutz (Evans City, Pa./Butler Community College) drained his second three-pointer of the half in the run, pulling Geneva to within 28-27.  Two minutes later, senior Jake Ford (New Middletown, Ohio/Springfield Local) scored back-to-back layups to give the Golden Tornadoes their first lead of the night, 34-32.  A third three-pointer from Stutz before the break gave Geneva a 37-35 lead heading into halftime.

Sophomore Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) began to assert himself offensively early in the second half, after a quiet first half for Geneva's leading scorer.  Tipton's three-pointer opened the scoring for Geneva in the final half, and three minutes later another long range shot from Tipton extended Geneva's lead to 48-43.  Two minutes later, Stroop scored on back-to-back baskets, the second of which drew Alonzo's fourth foul, sending Waynesburg's leading scorer to the bench with 11:24 remaining.

Despite not having Alonzo in the game for the next six minutes, Waynesburg hung around.  It was Geneva's long-range shooting that enabled the Golden Tornadoes to keep a lead over the Yellow Jackets, with Stutz and junior Matt Veynovich (Pompano Beach, Fla./Highlands Academy) each knocking down a three-pointer.  Then with five minutes remaining, Tipton converted a three-point play to extend Geneva's lead to 64-53, the biggest of the game for either team.  Waynesburg was able keep Geneva within striking distance, primarily due to the scoring of Ryan Felberg, but three-pointers from Tipton and Veynovich built Geneva's lead back up to 70-60 with two minutes remaining, and the Golden Tornadoes held on for the 78-72 victory.

"I was really proud of our guys for their fight today," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero.  "We started shooting the ball a little better in the second half, but it all started on the defensive end for us.  We got stops that enabled us to get into our offense a little easier.  Joel kept us in the game in the first half, and then Lyle took over in the second half.  AJ also gave us a huge lift tonight going up against Alonzo.  We now have a quick turnaround before we have to get ready for a road game against a good W&J squad on Wednesday."

Tipton led the offense with 20 points, 16 in the second half, while also grabbing 10 rebounds.  Stutz added 16 points, including 4-of-8 from three-point range.  Stroop also reach double figures with 10 points, while Veynovich added three three-pointers.  Sophomore Isaac Massie (Cross Lanes, W.Va./Homeschool) directed the offense, dishing out a career-high seven assists, while Ford gave Geneva a big boost off the bench, scoring a career-high seven point along with providing strong defense on Alonzo.  The Golden Tornadoes finished the game shooting 45% from the floor, including 10-of-26 (39%) from three-point range.  That helped offset a rebounding deficit of 15 for Geneva.  Felberg and Alonzo led Waynesburg with 21 and 20 points, respectively.

Geneva next travels to Washington & Jefferson on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff, before returning on Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. matchup with Grove City in Metheny Fieldhouse.


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.