HIRAM, Ohio – The Geneva College men's basketball team used a big second half, led by senior Ryan Rachic and junior Trevor Tipton, to defeat Hiram 89-79 to earn a season-opening road win. The Golden Tornadoes outscored the Terriers 50-37 in the final half to secure the victory.
Geneva opened the game with six straight points on two free throws from Tipton and back-to-back buckets from junior Payton Triplett. The Golden Tornadoes held a lead for the first eight minutes before six straight Hiram points midway through the first half gave the Terriers their first lead of the game, 18-17.
The lead would go back-and-forth over the next several minutes, with each team exchanging baskets. A six-point run by Geneva, though, on a jumper from Tipton, followed by baskets from graduate student Isaac Massie and sophomore Aiden Rorick, gave the Golden Tornadoes a 31-26 edge. Hiram would quickly respond, though, pulling even three times over the next several minutes, and then the Terriers used a late run to take a 42-39 lead into the half, despite Geneva leading for most of the first 20 minutes.
Hiram continued that run early into the second half, grabbing a 48-41 edge on a three-pointer from Dushawn Harris, the biggest lead of the game for the Terriers. Geneva quickly responded, though. A three-pointer from Tipton kicked off 14 straight Golden Tornado points. Rachic hit a jumper, followed by a layup from Tipton. Sophomore Jonathan Bertovich scored in transition, and after a steal by Rachic, Bertovich knocked down a three-pointer. Triplett finished the run off with a bucket to take Geneva from being down seven points, to up seven points, 55-48, just four minutes into the half. Geneva held that lead the rest of the game, but Hiram wouldn't go down easily.
The Terriers began to chip away at the Golden Tornado lead, pulling within 60-59 four minutes later. In fact, Hiram managed to cut the lead to one point three different times over the next two minutes, but Geneva never let the Terriers grab the lead. After Hiram cut the Geneva lead to 64-63, Tipton and junior Mihali Sfanos responded with back-to-back three-pointers to give the Golden Tornadoes some cushion midway through the second half.
Hiram never got closer than four points the rest of the game. Every time the Terriers appeared to be making a run, Geneva had an answer. Back-to-back buckets from Rachic with four minutes remaining gave the men their biggest lead of the game up to that point, 81-73. A moment later, another three-pointer from Tipton pushed the lead to 84-75 with under three minute to go. Hiram answered with back-to-back baskets, but a jumper from Massie with less than a minute remaining sealed the victory, with the men eventually prevailing, 89-79.
Tipton shot it great from the floor, finishing with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a 4-of-6 effort from long range. Rachic was right behind with 23 points and team-high nine rebounds. Massie also reached double figures with ten points, while Triplett finished with nine points. As a team Geneva shot 46% from the floor, including 8-of-27 (30%) from long range, while holding a slim 41-40 advantage on the boards. The men were also excellent from the foul line, shooting 15-of-17 (88%).
Hiram's Manuel Devora Violan led five Terriers in double figures with 19 points. Hiram shot 44% from the floor and 8-of-24 (33%) from deep.
"We really played well in the second half to earn the victory," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "We battled all night, and we really played pretty well in the first half except for about a four-minute stretch that really cost us. Ryan and Trevor were both so good for us tonight, and you see the type of players they can be as our leaders. JB (Bertovich) and Mihali hit some big shots for us in the second at key points too, and we really got good contributions from a number of guys. This is a good road win against a solid Hiram squad, and things will be just as challenging at Baldwin Wallace on Saturday."
Geneva's season-opening road trip will continue when the men travel to Baldwin Wallace on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. tipoff. The Golden Tornadoes open the home portion of their schedule next Wednesday when they host Thiel at 7:30 p.m. to begin conference play.
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).
