BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Brothers Lyle and Trevor Tipton took over in the second half for the Geneva College men's basketball team enabling the Golden Tornadoes to pull out a 70-52 victory over Bethany on Saturday after a sluggish start. Geneva improved to 10-4, 7-2 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Bethany dropped to 1-14, 1-9 in the PAC.
Geneva was ice cold early on. The Golden Tornadoes missed their first 12 three-pointers, most wide-open looks against the Bison zone defense. That enabled a struggling Bethany squad to lead for much of the first half. Geneva managed to score just 11 points in the first 11 minutes and trailed the Bison 15-11 midway through the half.
Lyle Tipton finally got Geneva's first long range shot to drop with just under four minutes left in the half, giving the Golden Tornadoes a 22-20 lead. Geneva proceeded to finish the half well, with Trevor Tipton knocking down another three-pointer to send the Golden Tornadoes into the break with a 29-22 lead.
The momentum didn't carry into the second half, though, as Geneva again struggled to make shots early on. In fact, Bethany scored the first 11 points in the half while the Golden Tornadoes didn't make a shot from the floor for almost six minutes as the Bisons took a 37-31 lead. At that point Lyle Tipton took over, hitting three three-pointer over the next two minutes, the last one restoring a 42-39 edge for Geneva.
Bethany managed to pull even at 44-44 with nine minutes remaining, but another three-pointer from Lyle Tipton gave the Golden Tornadoes a lead they would never relinquish. Trevor Tipton followed with a free throw and a three-pointer, followed by a basket from Lyle, giving Geneva its biggest lead of the game to that point, 53-44. The Golden Tornadoes never let up the rest of the game, winning 70-52 while closing the game on a 39-15 run over the final 14 minutes.
Lyle Tipton led the team with 24 points, while Trevor Tipton and senior Isaac Massie each added 13 points. Sophomore Mark Rachic led the team with 11 rebounds. Geneva shot 25-of-58 (43%) and 8-of-30 (27%) from three-point range after hitting just two of its first 21 shots from long range. The Golden Tornadoes also dominated the boards, 44-25.
"We've had a long week with three games in the last five days, and I think that had a little bit to do with our struggles early," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "We were getting good looks, we just couldn't make anything. But our defense kept getting stops and kept us in the game, and then Lyle took over in the second half, with Trevor and Isaac helping as well. It wasn't pretty, but we got the win we needed. We'll get a little rest over the next couple of days and then hopefully will get into a more normal routine next week with classes beginning."
Geneva will return to action next Wednesday when the Golden Tornadoes host Thiel for a 7:30 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).
