HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team dominated from start to finish in defeating Juniata on Saturday afternoon, 59-34, in the Juniata Doc Greene Holiday Tournament championship game. The men used a strong defensive performance, along with hot shooting from the perimeter in the first half, to win the holiday tournament and improve to 11-2 on the season.
Unlike the day prior, when Geneva struggled in the first half against Mary Baldwin after the long holiday layoff, the Golden Tornadoes took command from the tip. Senior Ryan Rachic opened with a jumper, and then the men hit three straight three-pointers. Rachic started the long-range barrage with a triple, sophomore Jonathan Bertovich knocked one down from deep, and then junior Trevor Tipton drained a three-pointer to give Geneva the first eleven points of the game.
The game was never really in doubt again. Juniata finally got on the board almost five minutes into the game, but the Eagles never got closer than seven points, the last time coming at 13-6. Tipton responded with another three-pointer, and a layup from junior Mark Rachic and a three-pointer from graduate student KC Johns, seeing his first extensive action of the season after recovering from an injury, pushed the Geneva lead to 21-6 nine minutes before halftime.
Three pointers from Tipton and junior Payton Triplett, followed by a traditional three-point play by graduate student Isaac Massie, extended the lead to 33-13. Johns knocked down another triple late in the half, and the Golden Tornadoes took a 36-18 lead into the break after hitting 9-of-15 from deep over the first 20 minutes.
Geneva continued to build its lead early in the second half. Two free throws from KC Johns pushed the lead to 51-24, the largest of the game, nine minutes into the half, allowing Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero to get deep into his bench to allow a number of reserves to get some playing time before finishing off the 59-34 victory.
Tipton, who was named the Tournament MVP, led the men for the second straight day with 15 points. Triplett added 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting, while Ryan Rachic finished with 11 points and was also named to the All-Tournament team. Johns gave the team a lift with eight points off the bench. Geneva shot 22-of-48 (45.8%) from the floor and finished 10-of-27 (37%) from three-point range. The men outrebounded Juniata 36-30.
Neco Campbell led the Eagles with nine points as Juniata shot just 14-of-52 (26.9%) from the floor and 2-of-13 (15.4%) from three-point range. The 34 points were the fewest Geneva has held an opponent to since giving up just 31 points to Penn State Beaver in 2006.
"We were completely locked in from the opening tip today," said Coach Santarsiero. "We were so good defensively that we were able to completely take them out of what they wanted to do offensively. Then we shot it really well from three-point range, which makes for a tough combination to beat. Trevor and Ryan deserved the all-tournament honors, and Payton really should have been on the all-tournament team too. He was really good for us this weekend. We'll enjoy this one, and then we'll get right back to work in conference play."
The weekend wraps up non-conference play for the Golden Tornadoes. Up next for Geneva is a game at Westminster on Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m.
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).
