PITTSBURGH, Pa. – It was a tough day at the office for the Geneva College men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon. Facing a Chatham squad that is in first place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) and has only lost one game all season, which the Golden Tornadoes were responsible, Geneva could never get its offense on track and fell to Chatham, 86-68. Geneva dropped to 9-8 overall, 7-4 in the PAC, while Chatham improved to 13-1, 8-1 in the PAC.
Geneva came out of the gate well. Junior Ryan Rachic (Prince Frederick, Md./Calvert) opened with two free throws, and senior Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) hit a jumper followed by a three-pointer from junior Isaac Massie (Cross Lanes, W.Va./Homeschool) to give the Golden Tornadoes an early 7-2 lead.
Chatham would score the next eight points to take its first lead of the game, but Geneva would respond with a 13-4 run to take its biggest lead of the game, 20-14, with the run capped off with back-to-back three-pointers from freshman Trevor Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) and Rachic.
However, with Geneva leading 22-16, things began to fall apart. Junior Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian), the leading scorer in the PAC, picked up his second foul and went to the bench, and the Cougars took advantage. Chatham immediately went on a 15-2 run to take a 31-24 lead, and the Cougars finished the half with five straight points in the final minute to take a 42-30 lead into the break. Rachic led the offense with 11 points, while Lyle Tipton was held scoreless.
Geneva opened the second half with a little run. Rachic hit two baskets, Lyle Tipton got on the board with two free throws, and Massie knocked down a jumper to pull within 44-38. That was as close as the Golden Tornadoes would get, though. After two more free throws from Lyle Tipton pulled Geneva within 46-40, the Cougars went on a 10-2 run over the next two minutes, taking a commanding 56-42 lead with 12:43 remaining in the game.
Geneva only got the deficit under double digits once the rest of the game, on a jumper from Lyle Tipton with 7:12 to pull within 66-57. Chatham scored the next eight points, though, to put the game away, and the Cougars closed out the game for an 86-68 win.
Rachic led the offense for Geneva, finishing with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting from floor, while also grabbing 10 rebounds. Lyle Tipton scored 14 points, all in the second half, while Massie reached double figures with 11 points. The Golden Tornadoes shot 41.5% from the floor, but just 4-of-15 (26.7%) from three-point range.
Chatham was led by Brandon Lavernia, who scored 20 points off the bench. The Cougars shot 48.6% from the floor while knocking down 10 three-pointers. Chatham also won the battle of the boards, 42-30.
"I thought we were pretty flat today," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "Chatham is really good, and to beat them at their place, we have to be on our game, and we weren't today. It looked like we were feeling the effects of two straight three-game weeks and it seemed like we had some tired legs today. So, it will be good to get a few days off before our next game with Grove City on Wednesday. We need to bounce back now and get ready for the stretch run of the season."
Geneva will be back in action next Wednesday with a home game against Grove City at 7:30 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).
