BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – After a hot shooting night just two days ago at Saint Vincent in a victory over the Bearcats, the Geneva College men's basketball team stayed hot on Saturday when the Golden Tornadoes hosted Thiel, and that offensive prowess propelled Geneva to a 92-82 victory over the Tomcats, its third straight win. The victory improved Geneva's record to 8-6 overall, 6-2 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Thiel dropped to 1-11, 0-6 in the PAC.
The Tomcats opened the game with a bucket, which proved to be their only lead of the game after junior Isaac Massie (Cross Lanes, W.Va./Homeschool) answered back with a three-pointer for the Golden Tornadoes. Junior Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) followed with a three-pointer, and after a Thiel bucket, junior Ryan Rachic (Prince Frederick, Md./Calvert) drained a three-pointer.
Thiel hung with Geneva early, though, and a Tomcat bucket pulled Thiel even at 12-12 six minutes into the game. Back-to-back baskets from Massie and senior Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) gave the Golden Tornadoes the lead back, though. Thiel stayed close for a few minutes, but midway through the first half, with Geneva leading 20-18, the Golden Tornadoes went on a run.
Tipton hit a jumper, followed by a three-pointer from Rachic, and after a Tomcat bucket, senior Matt Veynovich (Pompano Beach, Fla./Highlands Academy) knocked down a three-pointer. Two minutes later, Rachic drained his third three-pointer of the half while getting fouled, and he converted the free throw to give Geneva its first double-digit lead of the game, 34-24, with 6:23 left in the half. The Golden Tornadoes would push their lead as high as 12 points, 40-28, but the Tomcats closed with a late run to pull within 43-36 at the break.
Veynovich opened the second half with a three-pointer, and after a Thiel basket, Rachic hit his fourth three-pointer of the night to give Geneva a 49-38 lead just a minute into the half.
Thiel stayed in the game, though, using its size and athleticism to drive to the hoop for layups in the paint, but Geneva always had a response. Veynovich hit two more three-pointers over the first five minutes of the half as the Golden Tornado lead fluctuated between 7 and 14 points for the first ten minutes.
Geneva put the game away over the final nine minutes. After Thiel pulled within seven points, 69-62, a layup from Rachic kicked off an 11-2 run over the next three minutes, extending Geneva's lead to 80-64, the biggest of the game. A layup from Tipton with 5:16 left pushed the Golden Tornado lead to 86-69, and Geneva easily closed out the game, 92-82.
Rachic finished with a career-high 25 points to lead Geneva, including a 4-of-6 effort from long range. He also knocked down all seven of his free throws. He added five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. Tipton wasn't far behind with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor. Veynovich knocked down four three-pointers on his way to 15 points, while Massie added 14 points and six assists. Luptak, Geneva's fifth starter, also reached double figures with 10 points.
As a team, Geneva shot an impressive 53.4% from the floor, including 10-of-25 (40%) from three-point range. Thiel also shot it well from the floor, especially in the second half, finishing at 51.6%, including a 5-of-11 (45.5%) effort from long range. The Tomcats were led by Marlon Ellerbee's 19 points.
"This was a good team win against a Thiel squad that is athletic and talented, despite their record," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "I thought Ryan had his best game of the year tonight, and I thought our offensive execution was really good as well. We got contributions from all our starters, and when we're that balanced, we are tough to stop. We have a short turnaround now for a three-game week against three of the top teams in the PAC."
Geneva begins the week with a game at Grove City on Monday beginning at 7:30 p.m. On Wednesday the Golden Tornadoes host Westminster before finishing the week with a road game at Chatham on Saturday.
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).
