BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team learned its postseason destination on Wednesday for the upcoming National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) playoffs. The men are headed to Lancaster Bible next Thursday, March 10, to take part in the Midwest Region Championship game, with the winner advancing to the National Tournament the following week, while the loser's season will come to an end. The game is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. tipoff.
The Golden Tornadoes saw their conference season wrap up last week, and while Geneva knew it had qualified for the NCCAA postseason, the men had to wait to find out their opponent. Once all the teams in the region wrapped up their conference tournaments this weekend, just two teams were left standing, Geneva and Lancaster Bible. Lancaster Bible is the higher seeded team, so the Golden Tornadoes will travel to take on the Chargers.
The two teams actually matched up earlier this season in Geneva's Coaches vs Cancer Tipoff, and the Golden Tornadoes prevailed 86-73. Junior Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa./Phil-Mont Christian) led four players in double figures, finishing with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Ryan Rachic (Prince Frederick, Md./Calvert) added 16 points and 13 rebounds in the victory.
Lancaster Bible currently sits at 20-7 overall. The Chargers were the top team in the United East Conference, finishing conference play at 15-1, but Lancaster Bible lost 85-52 to Penn State Harrisburg in the conference championship game. The Chargers have four players averaging double figures, led by senior Jordan Shewbridge's 19.4 points per game.
The winner of the game will advance to the NCCAA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship hosted by Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana. Eight teams will qualify for that tournament, scheduled to start on Wednesday, March 16, with each team guaranteed three games at the tournament. The championship game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 19.
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).
