BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – In one of the most exciting games in recent Geneva College men's basketball memory, the Golden Tornadoes managed to get their game on Saturday with Saint Vincent to overtime, and then Geneva was excellent in the extra period in pulling out a huge win on Senior Day, 98-87. The men got key contributions from all three seniors, Nick Ehko, Isaac Massie and Lyle Tipton, to secure the victory. The win locks up at least one home game for the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs starting next week and improves Geneva's overall record to 17-8, 14-6 in the PAC. Saint Vincent dropped to 15-10, 11-9 in the PAC.
Massie got his Senior Day game off to a great start, nailing a three-pointer on the opening possession. A moment later, sophomore Trevor Tipton drained back-to-back three-pointers as Geneva came out red hot. Lyle Tipton followed with a bucket and a three-pointer to give the Golden Tornadoes an early double-digit lead, 14-4. In fact, Lyle scored 12 straight points as Geneva surged to a 21-8 edge.
The Geneva lead continued to grow. Trevor Tipton followed his brother's run with seven straight points of his own, and a layup from junior Payton Triplett gave the Golden Tornadoes a 30-13 lead eleven minutes into the game.
Unfortunately, as happened three nights earlier against W&J, things changed quickly. Foul trouble forced Trevor Tipton and junior starter Ryan Rachic to the bench, and the Bearcat took advantage. Saint Vincent used full-court pressure to give Geneva problems, and over the next three minutes, Saint Vincent scored 15 straight points to close within 30-28. A bucket from freshman Aiden Rorick finally broke the Bearcat run and allowed Geneva to take a 36-33 lead into the break.
Saint Vincent took its first lead of the game five minutes into the second half, 50-48, and Geneva would actually never lead again in regulation. The final 15 minutes of the game saw the Bearcat lead mostly fluctuate between one and four points, with neither team able to put together a run. The Golden Tornadoes managed to tie the game at 64-64 on a jumper from Trevor Tipton with eight minutes left, but Saint Vincent always had an answer. Three minutes later, two free throws from Lyle Tipton pulled Geneva level again at 72-72. However, over the next three minutes, Saint Vincent went on a 10-4 run to take its biggest advantage of the game, 80-74, with 1:34 remaining.
Things looked bleak for the Golden Tornadoes at that point, but Trevor Tipton knocked down another three-pointer ten seconds later to pull Geneva within one possession. A minute later, Rachic scored in the paint, pulling the Golden Tornadoes with 80-79 with 34 seconds left. Geneva fouled, and Saint Vincent's Andrew Reed knocked down both free throws. On Geneva's final possession of regulation, Rachic knocked down a huge three-pointer from the wing with 10 seconds left. Saint Vincent called a timeout, but Geneva got a huge stop at the end of the game to send the game to overtime.
It was all Geneva in the overtime. Lyle Tipton opened the extra frame with a deep three-pointer, Rachic followed with a layup, and on Saint Vincent's next possession, Tipton cut into the passing lane on the perimeter and intercepted a Bearcat pass, and Tipton streaked down to the other end for a tomahawk dunk to send the home-court crowd into a frenzy. Tipton followed with a bucket and two free throws as Geneva scored the first 11 points of the overtime, enabling the Golden Tornadoes to cruise late to a 98-87 win.
Lyle Tipton finished with 29 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor, 3-of-4 from three-point line and 12-of-13 from the foul line. Trevor Tipton was just as good, shooting 8-of-10 from the floor, 5-of-6 from three-point range and 3-of-3 from the foul line to finish with 24 points. Massie added 16 points on 2-of-2 shooting from deep, while Rachic finished with 13 points, including the huge late three-pointer to get the game to overtime. Ehko, a reserve who often doesn't see a lot of playing, was also huge for the Golden Tornadoes, making a three-pointer and another basket during the second half, keeping Geneva close.
Geneva shot it tremendously from the floor, which it needed to in order to overcome 24 turnovers. The Golden Tornadoes were 31-of-50 (62%) from the floor and 12-of-18 (67%) from three-point range. The men also made a critical 24-of-26 (92%) from the free throw line, while outrebounding the athletic Bearcats, 36-29.
Saint Vincent was strong offensively as well, finishing 34-of-72 (47%) from the floor and 8-of-18 (44%) from deep. The Bearcats' undoing was at the free throw line, where Saint Vincent hit just 11-of-23 (48%). All five starters reached double figures, with Mike Iuzzolino leading the team with 19 points.
"This was just a huge gut-check win for us today," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "It didn't look great at times for us in the second half, but we just never gave up. We just kept battling to stay within striking distance, and then Ryan hit that huge three-pointer late, which wouldn't have ended up mattering if Ryan hadn't played great defense, with four fouls no less, to get us a stop on the final play of regulation.
"Then in overtime, Lyle started us off with a huge three-pointer, and our guys just weren't going to leave without a win. I'm so happy for our seniors. Lyle and Isaac were huge today, and Nick gave us some tremendous minutes as well. Those three have been the leaders of this team that now has the best record Geneva's had since moving to Division III over a decade ago. We're excited to get to playoffs next week and see where we can go."
Geneva secured the third spot in the PAC playoffs and will host #6 Thiel on Tuesday night inside Metheny Fieldhouse. The tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 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).
