MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team knew it would be a hard-fought night as the Golden Tornadoes embarked up I-79 to face red-hot Allegheny College, who were riding a five-game winning streak. The Gators turned that into a sixth straight win Wednesday night in convincing fashion, defeating the Golden Tornadoes 99-74, despite a big night from senior Lyle Tipton, who surpassed 1,500 career points.
Reminiscent of their loss on the road to Saint Vincent a week ago, Geneva fell behind early, as Allegheny pulled out to a 9-2 lead within the first four minutes. Six minutes in, Allegheny took advantage of a pair of missed threes, taking a 16-7 lead. Geneva closed within six points, but for the next handful of possessions, Allegheny converted nearly every Geneva miss into points at the other end. Geneva was forced to take a timeout to regroup eleven minutes into the game, down by 13. That break seemed to only energize the Gators further, breaking out a 17-4 run over the next five minutes. Allegheny finished the half with a 54-31 lead, with the Gators shooting 56.8% in the first half compared to the GTs' 35.7%.
Tipton came out of the locker room with the hot hand. He hit 4-of-5 from three-point range in the first ten minutes of the second half. While Allegheny's defense may not have had an answer for Tipton, his stellar performance was only answering what the Gators were doing themselves. After Tipton's flurry of deep balls, Allegheny still maintained a 77-55 lead. Ultimately, Geneva could never get back within striking distance, falling by 25 at the final buzzer.
The Gator effort was led by a star of their own, Caden Hinckley, current PAC Player of the Week and second in scoring per game in the conference, behind only Tipton. Hinckley finished the game with a career-high 34-point performance. Lyle Tipton finished with 33 points on 47.8% shooting from the floor, propelling him past 1,500 in his highly-decorated collegiate career as a Golden Tornado. He's now 13th all-time in school history in scoring. Junior Ryan Rachic followed with 13 points and 7 rebounds. Senior Isaac Massie wound up with nine points and sophomore Trevor Tipton seven points.
The Golden Tornadoes will get ready for their second straight road game on Saturday when they travel to Ohio to face Franciscan University at 4:00 p.m.
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).
