STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Geneva College men's basketball team got another big day from senior Lyle Tipton on Saturday afternoon at Franciscan as the Golden Tornadoes led from start to finish in a dominating 96-62 win over the Barons. Geneva improved to 13-7 overall, 10-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).
Tipton opened the game with two jumpers and a three-pointer as Geneva sprinted out to an early 15-2 edge. The Golden Tornadoes extended their lead to as much as 25-9 before the men had their only cold spell of the game. Franciscan went on an 11-2 run over a six-minute stretch late in the half, pulling within 27-20 with just under two minutes left. However, a three-point play from Tipton pushed the lead back to double digits, and then freshman Jonathan Bertovich banked in a 25-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to send Geneva into the break with a 35-23 lead. Tipton had 19 points in the half.
Geneva put the game away early in the second half. After the Barons hit a three-pointer on the opening possession of the half, the Golden Tornadoes responded with a 17-7 run over the next three minutes, with sophomore Trevor Tipton knocking down three three-pointers in the stretch. Three minutes later, another three-pointer from Tipton pushed the Geneva advantage over 20 points, 59-37. The Golden Tornadoes would eventually extend their lead as high as 88-49 before closing out the 96-62 win.
Lyle Tipton finished with 33 points, his second straight game of at least 33 points, in just 28 minutes of action. He shot 12-of-17 from the floor, 4-of-5 from three-point range. Trevor Tipton scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from deep, while Bertovich also finished with 15 points, including 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range. Senior Isaac Massie also reached double figures with 11 points.
As a team Geneva shot 38-of-63 (60%) from the floor, knocking down 15-of-24 (63%) from long range. Geneva held Franciscan to 18-of-57 (32%) from the floor.
"I thought we really locked down defensively early," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "That set the tone, and we stymied them most of the game. Our defense, other than the Allegheny game, has really been pretty solid. It's our offense that has been a little bit up and down over the past couple of weeks. But if we want to win this league, we're going to have to do it on the defensive end and trust our offense to produce when we need it, and we certainly did that today. Lyle is such a special player, but we got contributions from a lot of guys today."
The men will enjoy a week off before returning to action next Saturday when the Golden Tornadoes host Waynesburg at 3:00 p.m. 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).
