BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team suffered a tough home loss to Chatham on Wednesday night inside Metheny Fieldhouse in a game that came down to the final moments. The Cougars made the plays late to pull out a 69-66 win over the Golden Tornadoes. The loss is the second straight for the men, who saw their record drop to 11-6 overall, 8-4 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Chatham jumped ahead of Geneva in the PAC standings with a 10-7 record, 9-3 in the PAC.
Senior Lyle Tipton opened the game with a bucket before the Golden Tornadoes went cold, enabling Chatham to score ten straight points over the next five minutes. Two three-pointers from sophomore Trevor Tipton got Geneva going again, though, and a layup from junior Ryan Rachic gave the Golden Tornadoes the lead back, 16-15, midway through the first half.
Chatham put together a spurt in response, pulling back ahead 24-19 with six minutes to go in the half, but Geneva battled back to tie the score at 29-29 going in the first half, thanks primarily to Trevor Tipton's 13 first-half points.
The Cougars regained a four-point lead early in the second half, but two free throws from Rachic and jumpers from senior Isaac Massie and Trevor Tipton gave the Golden Tornadoes the lead back, 41-39. The lead would change hands several times over the next ten minutes, with neither team leading by more than two points.
A three-point play from Rachic with eight minutes left gave the Golden Tornadoes a 53-52, but it would prove to be the last lead the men would hold. A free throw and a three-pointer from Chatham's Marcos Cintron gave the Cougars a lead they would not relinquish.
Geneva did hang close with Chatham over the final seven minutes, but could never regain the lead. A layup from Rachic, while being fouled, with three minutes left pulled the Golden Tornadoes 62-61, but Rachic was unable to convert the free throw. On Chatham's next possession, the Cougars pulled down an offensive rebound and Chatham's Isaiah Smith knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the game, and the Cougars held off Geneva over the final two minutes to win 69-66.
Trevor Tipton led the men with 18 points. Rachic added 14 points, Massie 13, while Lyle Tipton finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Geneva shot 24-of-58 (41%) from the floor but just 4-of-16 (25%) from three-point range. Cintron led the Cougars with 23 points, while Smith added 18. Chatham shot 28-of-72 (39%) from the floor, 8-of-22 (36%) from deep.
"This one really stunk," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "We have to do the little stuff to win, especially when were struggling offensively like we have the last couple of weeks, and we're just not doing those things. We gave up some key offensive rebounds late, missed a couple free throws that we needed, and we had too many careless passes on the perimeter that led to easy transition points. We've got to get better, or we're going to continue to struggle. We need to regroup immediately and refocus ourselves if we want to get to where we believe we can get."
The men will try to regroup on Saturday when the Golden Tornadoes host Grove City for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff inside Metheny Fieldhouse.
Through purposeful learning in a community reflecting the full spectrum of God's kingdom, a Geneva College experience inspires students to discover a faith-life calling in service to God and neighbor. Offering 195+ traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality and affordability. 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 the International Association for Christian Education (IACE).
