BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team broke out of a recent offensive slump on Saturday against rival Grove City, shooting its way to an 85-66 victory over the Wolverines, the Golden Tornadoes' fourth straight win over Grove City. Geneva improved to 12-6 overall, 9-4 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Grove City dropped to 6-11, 4-8 in the PAC.
Senior Lyle Tipton and sophomore Mark Rachic opened the game with two buckets, and Geneva would never trail the rest of the way. Two minutes later, four straight three-pointers extended the Golden Tornado lead to 16-4. Sophomore Trevor Tipton hit the first two, while senior Isaac Massie and freshman Jonathan Bertovich followed with long range shots.
The game would settle into a rhythm the rest of the half. Grove City would pull within six points a couple minutes later, but two layups from Rachic, a bucket and three free throws from Lyle Tipton, and another three-pointer from Trevor Tipton gave Geneva a 34-19 lead.
Four minutes later, another three-pointer from Trevor Tipton, his fourth of the half, gave the Golden Tornadoes their biggest lead of the half, 43-26. However, Grove City scored the last six points of the period to pull within 43-32. Trevor Tipton led Geneva with 14 first-half points as the Golden Tornadoes made 8-of-12 long range shots.
Massie opened the second half with another three-pointer, and Trevor Tipton's fifth three-pointer pushed Geneva's edge to 53-37 two minutes into the half. The Golden Tornadoes had their only cold spell of the game over the next six minutes, though, as Geneva managed just two free throws from Rachic enabling the Wolverines to pull within 55-49.
A layup from junior Payton Triplett with 11:55 left was Geneva's first made basket from the field since Tipton's three-pointer six minutes earlier, and Lyle Tipton followed with a three-pointer to give the Golden Tornadoes a double-digit advantage again, 60-49.
Grove City hung in the game with its work on the glass, including one possession in which the Wolverines managed four offensive rebounds before finally converting a bucket, and Grove City managed to close within six points again, 65-59, with 6:34 remaining.
Trevor Tipton followed with his sixth and seventh three-pointers of the game on Geneva's next two possessions, and game was never close again. Massie hit another three-pointer a minute later, followed by Tipton's eighth three-pointer of the game, and the Golden Tornadoes dominated the final six minutes on their way to an 85-66 win.
Trevor Tipton finished 8-of-12 from three-point range, one off the school record for most made three-point shots in game, scoring a game-high 26 points. Lyle Tipton added 17 points, Massie 14 points and Rachic 10 points. Geneva shot 30-of-61 (49%) from the floor and 16-of-26 (62%) from three-point range.
"That's the type of team we can be when we are locked in," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "We made shots early and locked in defensively, getting off to a great start. Trevor shot it very well, as did the whole team. We struggled in the second half with rebounding, and that allowed Grove City to get back into it, but we were so good the final five minutes. This was a much-need win and sets up a big matchup on Wednesday."
The men will head to Allegheny on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. matchup. The Gators are one of three teams one game ahead of Geneva in the PAC standings.
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).
