GROVE CITY, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team got another big day from a Tipton on Saturday at Grove City, this one from senior Lyle Tipton, in a 66-44 victory over the Wolverines. The win is Geneva's third straight to open the season, the first time the Golden Tornadoes have opened with three victories since 2010, improving its record to 3-0 overall, 2-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). Grove City dropped to 1-3 overall, 0-1 in the PAC.
The Wolverines gameplan was to slow the game down, trying to control the potent Geneva offense that came in averaging over 100 points per game. Grove City managed to keep the game low scoring, using almost all the shot clock on every possession, but the Wolverines couldn't score early, and Tipton could. Tipton opened the game with a three-pointer, and he proceeded to score the first 11 points for the Golden Tornadoes, who took an early 11-2 lead. A layup from freshman Jonathan Bertovich nine minutes into the game was the first non-Tipton points for Geneva.
Another Tipton three-pointer at the midway point of the first half extended the Geneva lead to 16-4. A fast-break, left-handed dunk from sophomore Mark Rachic, and layup from senior Isaac Massie, pushed the Golden Tornado advantage to 27-11, though Grove City scored the final four points of the half to close within to 27-15 at the break.
The Wolverines managed to cut the lead under double digits a couple of times early in the second half, but the Golden Tornadoes never relinquished control of the game. Geneva steadily pulled away over the final 12 minutes of game, getting contributions from a number of players, in addition to Tipton, and the Golden Tornadoes closed out the 66-44 victory with ease.
The 22-point victory over Grove City was the largest Geneva win in the series since 1995, when the Golden Tornadoes defeated the Wolverines 82-56. Ironically, Mark and Ryan Rachic's father, Joe, started for Geneva in that game and scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Tipton finished with 30 points, right at his season average, shooting 11-of-20 from the floor and 3-of-6 from three-point range. Ryan Rachic also reached double digits with 12 points. Geneva shot an impressive 56% from the floor, doing most of its damage from inside the paint. The Golden Tornadoes attempted just 11 three-pointers, making three, all by Tipton.
"We really set the tone early with our defense," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "We locked in on their motion offense and didn't let them get going offensively, which allowed us to get out to an early lead and play from ahead. Lyle had a great game, and he really carried us in the first half, but then the rest of the guys got going offensively in the second half. Ryan gave us some good minutes in that half, and Trevor hit an important jumper when Grove City had cut it to nine. We need to now focus in for Chatham on Tuesday so we can head into the break on a good note.
Geneva will look to win its fourth straight when the Golden Tornadoes travel to Chatham on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.
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).
