BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – History was made on Tuesday night in Metheny Fieldhouse, but here's hoping much more history is ahead.  The Geneva College men's basketball team won its first home Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoff game with a dominating and balanced 94-62 victory over the #10-seed Saint Vincent Bearcats in the PAC Quarterfinals.  Up next is a matchup with rival #4-seed Grove City on Thursday night in the PAC Semifinals.  Geneva, the #2 seed in the playoffs, moved its record to 8-2, while Saint Vincent saw its season come to an end at 3-8.

It was the Matt Veynovich (Pompono Beach, Fla./Highlands Academy) Show early on, as the junior made his first two three-pointers and scored the first eight points of the ballgame before two minutes were gone in the contest.  Saint Vincent closed to within 9-4, but that would actually be as close as the Bearcats got all night.  A layup by sophomore Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) at the 10:50 mark extended the Golden Tornado lead to double digits, 20-10.

Saint Vincent scored the next four points to close to within six points, but Geneva scored the next nine points on two free throws from senior RJ Bell (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan), a layup from junior Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley), a three-pointer from sophomore Isaac Massie (Cross Lanes, W.Va./Homeschool) and a layup from Tipton.  The Golden Tornadoes never looked back.  Another three-pointer from Veynovich with 1:32 remaining in the half pushed Geneva's lead to 21, 44-23, before settling for a 46-28 lead at the break.

Saint Vincent tried to make run early in the second half, pulling as close as 56-42 with just over five minutes gone.  Massie responded with a three-point play, and Geneva slowly began to extend its lead back out.  Senior Joel Stutz (Evans City, Pa./Butler Community College) knocked down a three-pointer a few moments later to push the lead back to 21, 66-45, and it was never close again.  The Golden Tornadoes cruised the rest of the way, allowing Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero to go deep into his bench over the final four minutes, with the reserves finishing off the 94-62 victory.

Tipton led six players in double figures with 20 points.  Luptak and Veynovich each finished with 14 points, while Stutz stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, six assists and six rebounds.  Massie added a season-high 12 points, including a 3-for-3 effort from long range, and senior AJ Stroop (Hillsboro, Ohio/Lynchburg-Clay) finished with 10 points.  The Golden Tornadoes shot 47% from the floor, including a 10-for-25 (40%) effort from three-point range, while also knocking down 18-of-19 (95%) from the free throw line.

"This was a really good win for our program," said Santarsiero.  "Our guys really followed our scouting report well, and it allowed us to get out to a big lead.  I knew Saint Vincent would try to make a run early in the second half, but we locked in defensively and made some shots.  We were really balanced offensively tonight, and when we do that, we're tough to guard.  Now we get ready for Grove City on Thursday."

Geneva will host Grove City on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. after #6-seed Thiel upset #3-seed W&J on Tuesday.  This will mark the third straight season the two rivals have faced off in the PAC Playoffs, including last season's PAC Championship game.  The Golden Tornadoes were unable to win either of those previous matchups, but this will be the first time the playoff game has been inside 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.