PITTSBURGH, Pa. – If the Geneva College men's basketball team, picked sixth in the preseason Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) poll, hadn't gotten other teams' attention with its four-game winning streak to open the season, the Golden Tornadoes definitely made a statement on Tuesday night with an 89-77 win at Chatham, the reigning PAC champions. Geneva led almost the entire game in moving its record to a perfect 5-0 overall, 3-0 in the PAC. Just as impressively, four of those five wins have come on the road.
Both teams started off hot from the perimeter. Sophomore Jonathan Bertovich opened the scoring with a three-pointer, followed by a three-pointer from Chatham. Junior Trevor Tipton followed with two three-pointers, but each time the Cougars had an answer from long range. Chatham took its first, and only, lead of the game at 14-13 on another three-pointer, but it was a brief lead as graduate student Isaac Massie answered right back with a long-range shot.
In fact, Massie's three-pointer kick-started a run by Geneva. Junior Mark Rachic followed with a dunk in transition as the Golden Tornadoes put together a 16-4 stretch to take their first double digit lead of the game, 29-18. Tipton hit his third three-pointer in the stretch.
The Cougars pulled within five, 33-28, five minutes later on another three-pointer, but the Golden Tornadoes answered with another run. Bertovich scored two layups, sandwiched around a three-pointer from senior Ryan Rachic. Two minutes later, Rachic drained another long range shot to give Geneva its biggest lead of the half, 48-33, a minute before the break. Chatham did score the final five points of the half to pull within 48-38 at halftime. Tipton led the team with 14 points, including 4-of-4 shooting from deep. Eight different players scored for the Golden Tornadoes in the balanced offensive attack.
Bertovich opened the second half just like he did in the first half, knocking down a three-pointer, and a layup from junior Payton Triplett pushed the lead back to 15 points a minute into the half. However, Chatham began to rally as the Golden Tornadoes slowed down offensively.
The Cougars scored six straight points to cut their deficit under ten points. Mark Rachic responded with a three-pointer, but it did little to slow the Chatham offense down. Midway through the half, the Cougars pulled within two points, 62-60, after another Chatham three-pointer. Geneva never let the Cougars take the lead, though. Sophomore Trey Barker hit a big three-pointer a minute later to help keep the Golden Tornadoes ahead.
Chatham did close within one point, 69-68, after another three-pointer with seven minutes to go, but Tipton answered right back with a triple of his own, his fifth of the night. Mark Rachic followed with bucket in the paint, and two free throws from Ryan Rachic pushed the lead back to 76-68, and Geneva had an answer for every Chatham rally over the final four minutes. Tipton's sixth three-pointer of the game with under three minutes to go felt like the clincher, and the Golden Tornadoes knocked down their free throws over the final two minutes to earn the 89-77 victory.
Ryan Rachic led the team with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Tipton was right behind with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, including an impressive 6-of-8 effort from long range. Bertovich also had a good game, adding 14 points, while Massie was the fourth Golden Tornado to reach double figures with ten points. Geneva shot an impressive 30-of-56 (54%) from the floor, including a tremendous 14-of-27 (52%) effort from three-point range.
Chatham's Luca Robinson led four Cougars in double figures with 20 points. Chatham shot 29-of-67 (43%) from the floor, including a 13-of-35 (37%) effort from long range.
"This was a really good win for our team," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "JB (Bertovich) got us started. Trevor shot it so well, and Ryan put together one of his best games at Geneva. I was proud of the way we battled through some adversity in the second half. They're a really good team, the reigning conference champions, so we knew they wouldn't go away quietly. We got away from the things we needed to be doing a little bit in the second half, but we regrouped and earned a win at a very tough place to play. We'll get a little bit of rest now for a couple days as the guys enjoy Thanksgiving, and then we'll get right to work on Saturday."
The men have now equaled the 1997-98 team with five straight victories to open the season. The men have a long way to go, though, to match the school record 15-game winning streak to start the year that the 1993-94 team accomplished. Up next for Geneva is Pitt-Greensburg, as the Golden Tornadoes take a break from PAC play to host the Bobcats on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Saturday's game is the first of three straight home games for the men.
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).
