BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – In what was one of the more entertaining games the Geneva College men's basketball team has played this season, the Golden Tornadoes, led by a big night from junior Ryan Rachic (Prince Frederick, Md./Calvert), outlasted Franciscan on Monday night inside Metheny Fieldhouse to earn a 99-93 victory over the Barons. Geneva improved to 11-8 overall, 9-4 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Franciscan dropped to 7-12, 5-8 in the PAC.
Franciscan came into the game on Monday night playing its best basketball of the season. The Barons had won three of their last four games, including victories over Waynesburg and Westminster, two teams that had defeated Geneva earlier in the season, so the Golden Tornadoes knew they would likely be in for a tough game, and that proved to be the case in the high-scoring affair.
Junior Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) opened the game with a three-pointer, followed by two free throws, giving the Golden Tornadoes the early momentum. Franciscan pulled within one point, but Geneva responded by slowly building its lead over the next four minutes to its biggest of the game, 24-15, on two free throws from sophomore Rob Liggett (Beaver, Pa./Lincoln Park) with 13:12 remaining in the half.
However, Franciscan had a response, getting hot from three-point range. The Barons went on a 22-5 run over the next five minutes, with Franciscan hitting five of its first seven three-pointers. The Barons were ahead 37-29 before a three-pointer from senior Matt Veynovich (Pompano Beach, Fla./Highlands Academy) went down with 7:21 left in the half.
The three-pointer from Veynovich didn't slow down Franciscan, though, who eventually built its lead to 47-37 with 4:43 remaining. Another three-pointer from Veynovich enabled Geneva to finish the half on a run, though. Rachic knocked down four free throws and a bucket over the final four minutes, and a layup from Veynovich with less than a minute remaining allowed Geneva to pull within 54-50 at the break. Veynovich led the team with 14 points in the half.
Rachic scored the first two baskets of the second half to pull the Golden Tornadoes even, and after a Franciscan bucket, a three-point play from senior Amos Luptak (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) gave Geneva its first lead, 57-56, since midway through the first half.
Over the next ten minutes, the game stayed very tight. Neither team led by more than three points until a jumper from Franciscan gave the Barons a 77-72 lead with 8:26 remaining. The Golden Tornadoes responded well to the deficit, though, with Geneva focused on getting the ball to the hoop. Over the next three minutes, the Golden Tornadoes went on a 16-3 run, with a layup from Luptak with 5:12 remaining giving Geneva an 88-80 lead and putting the Golden Tornadoes in good position to close out the win.
It didn't come easy, though, as Franciscan had one more burst left. The Barons responded with a 9-2 run, and with 2:23 remaining, Franciscan pulled within 90-89. On the following possession, freshman Trevor Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) knocked down a huge three-pointer from the corner, Geneva's first long range make in the second half after the Golden Tornadoes missed their first seven three-point shots. Franciscan closed within two points twice in the final minute, but Geneva made all six of its free throws down the stretch, four by Luptak and two by Rachic, to seal the hard-earned victory, 99-93.
Rachic led the Geneva offense with a career-high 26 points, with the junior also grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds. Luptak added 20 points, while Lyle Tipton finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Veynovich also reached double figures with 14 points. Geneva shot 31-of-62 (50%) from the floor, including 7-of-22 (31.8%) from long range. Geneva was tremendous from the foul line, shooting 30-of-34 (88.2%) from the stripe. The Golden Tornadoes did a good job on the boards as well, particularly in the second half, outrebounding Franciscan 48-34.
Franciscan shot 35-of-78 (44.9%) from the floor, including 10-of-25 (40%) from three-point range, though the Barons hit just 3-of-12 (25%) from long range in the second half. Sean Hickey led six Barons in double figures with 16 points.
"This was another really gutsy performance from our guys tonight," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "Franciscan has really been playing well lately, and they showed it again tonight. We didn't play well defensively in the first half, and we especially didn't rebound like we needed to, giving up too many second and third chances. But we came out much better in the second half. We rebounded the ball, and we got the ball to the hoop, where we either scored or got to the foul line. It's going to be another absolute battle in two days again with these guys."
These two teams turn right around and play each other again, with Geneva heading to Franciscan on Wednesday for an 8:00 p.m. tipoff. The quirk in the scheduling is due to the fact tonight's game was originally scheduled for early in the semester but was postponed to this week due to COVID protocols.
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).
