BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team seemed to have control of its game with W&J on Saturday afternoon inside Metheny Fieldhouse for most of the contest, but Geneva had to hold off a late rally by the Presidents to prevail, 74-70. Geneva improved to 9-2 overall, 7-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while W&J dropped to 2-10, 1-6 in the PAC.
Geneva knew it would likely have its hands full on Saturday, despite the early season struggles by W&J. The Presidents finished first in the PAC regular season standings last year and returned much of their squad, which is why W&J was named the favorite in the preseason conference poll. And the Presidents looked strong in the first minute of the game, taking advantage of two straight Geneva turnovers to grab a quick 6-0 lead barely a minute into the game, forcing Geneva Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero to call a quick timeout.
The Golden Tornadoes responded well coming out of the timeout. Graduate student Isaac Massie got Geneva on the board with a jumper, and senior Ryan Rachic followed with a layup and a three-pointer to quickly give the Golden Tornadoes their first lead of the game, 7-6. Sophomore Jonathan Bertovich finished the ten-point run off with a three-pointer, but the game stayed close over the next several minutes.
Trailing 20-18 midway through the first half, Geneva used a quick eight-point burst to grab the lead, which they ultimately would not relinquish. Junior Payton Triplett scored inside, and then junior Mark Rachic knocked down back-to-back three-pointers. Three minutes later, three-pointers from Bertovich and junior Trevor Tipton pushed the Geneva edge to 38-30 before W&J closed within 42-37 at the break. Tipton led all scorers with 11 points in the first half, while Triplett added ten points.
Geneva came out well in the second half. Massie knocked down a three-pointer, Triplett scored inside, Massie scored again, Ryan Rachic scored in the paint, and then Bertovich capped off eleven straight points with a jumper to suddenly give the Golden Tornadoes a 53-37 advantage four minutes into the half.
That was the biggest advantage the Golden Tornadoes could grab all game, with the lead fluctuating between 10 and 16 points for the next eight minutes. A three-point play from Massie with 6:27 remaining gave Geneva a 70-58 lead and left the Golden Tornadoes in good shape, but W&J rallied late.
Geneva went cold over the final six and half minutes of the game, with a layup from Triplett with 4:56 remaining the only basket the Golden Tornadoes made from the floor during the final stretch of the contest. The Presidents took advantage of Geneva's offensive struggles to pull their way back into the game. Geneva scored just four points over the final 6:27, allowing W&J to close within 73-70 with a minute left.
In the final minute, Massie's spinning layup attempt with 34 seconds left just rolled out, but a three-pointer by W&J's J.R. Mazza with three seconds left that would have tied the game went long. Mark Rachic was fouled with 2.4 seconds left and converted one free throw to seal the win, 74-70.
All five starters for Geneva finished in double figures, led by Ryan Rachic's 16 points. Tipton finished with 15 points, while Triplett contributed a double-double, 14 points and 11 rebounds. Massie and Bertovich both finished with ten points. The Golden Tornadoes finished the game shooting 30-of-65 (46.2%) from the floor and 8-of-22 (36.4%) from three-point range, but just a 1-of-7 effort (14.3%) from deep in the second half. Geneva helped W&J's comeback with 15 turnovers, but the men did outboard W&J 43-40.
Alex Acosta led the Presidents with a game-high 18 points. W&J shot 31-of-80 (38.8%) from the floor and 6-of-19 (31.6%) from deep, while committing just eight turnovers.
"Ultimately, any win is a good win in this league," said Santarsiero. "That's a really talented team, despite what their record says, and we knew it would be a tough game. I thought maybe we were a little sluggish at times after a week of finals, but we also played well in moments. Our bigs, Ryan and Payton, were especially good for us today. We're looking forward to a break now before coming back next week to get ready to head to Juniata."
The men will get several days off coming up before returning after Christmas to get ready for the Juniata Doc Green Tournament. Geneva will play Mary Baldwin on Friday, December 29, followed by a game on Saturday against either Juniata or Penn College.
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).
