NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Junior Ryan Rachic and sophomore Trevor Tipton picked a good game to have career nights. The duo was huge for the Geneva College men's basketball team on Wednesday night, leading the Golden Tornadoes to a huge overtime win at Westminster, 99-94. The victory, one of the biggest of the season for the men, broke a seven-game losing streak to the Titans, all games that came down to the wire, and improved their record to 15-7 overall, 12-5 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). The win also keeps the Golden Tornadoes in control of their own destiny for the top seed in the PAC playoffs. Westminster dropped to 13-9, 11-6 in the PAC, one game behind Geneva in the standings.
Westminster opened a brief lead early in the first half, 7-4, before the Golden Tornadoes responded. A layup from junior Payton Triplett, a three-pointer from Rachic, and back-to-back buckets from Triplett gave Geneva a quick 9-0 burst to take a 13-7 lead.
The Titans battled back, though, retaking the lead midway through the first half, 20-18. Westminster held the lead going into the last five minutes of the half before Geneva put together a strong finish. With the Titans leading 29-26, another three-pointer from Rachic pulled the Golden Tornadoes level. Westminster answered with a bucket, but a three-pointer from senior Isaac Massie gave the Golden Tornadoes the lead back, 32-31, a lead Geneva would hold for most of the rest of the game.
The Golden Tornadoes then finished the half on a 9-1 run. Senior Lyle Tipton hit a layup, Trevor Tipton followed with a three-pointer, Lyle scored another bucket, and Massie knocked down another three-pointer after a Titan free throw to send Geneva into the break leading 43-34. Rachic had 17 points in the half, while Triplett added 10 points.
Rachic opened the second half right where he left off prior to the break, knocking down a three-pointer to give Geneva its first double-digit lead, 46-34. Back-to-back three-pointers from Trevor Tipton kept Geneva with a double-digit lead five minutes into the half, 55-44. The Golden Tornadoes twice extended their lead to 13 points, the last coming on a three-pointer from Rachic with 10:43 left to give Geneva a 64-51 advantage.
At that point, Westminster slowly battled its way back into the game. An 8-2 run over the next two minutes pulled the Titans with 66-59. Geneva still led 73-66 after two free throws from Rachic with 5:37 left before Westminster scored five quick points to close within 73-71. The Titans eventually pulled level with 1:21 left at 77-77, and each team had two possessions to win the game in the final minute, but both teams came up empty, sending the game into overtime.
Overtime proved to be a high-scoring five minutes. Rachic opened the scoring with two free throws before a Westminster three-pointer gave the Titans their first lead, 80-79, since midway through the first half. Trevor Tipton took over at that point, knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to give the Golden Tornadoes an 85-80 edge. Westminster pulled within two before a three-point play from Lyle Tipton, followed by another three-pointer from Trevor Tipton, gave the Golden Tornadoes a 91-83. A few late Geneva misses from the foul line enabled the Titans to pull within three points, 97-94, with ten seconds remaining, but Trevor Tipton sealed the game with two free throws to finish off the dramatic victory, 99-94.
Rachic had a monster game, scoring a career-high 32 points while pulling down 16 rebounds, tying his career-high. He shot 9-of-17 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from three-point range, while knocking down 9-of-11 shots from the stripe. Trevor Tipton wasn't far behind, scoring 28 points, one off his career-high, while knocking down 8-of-14 three-point shots, one off the school record for most three-pointers made in a game.
Lyle Tipton and Triplett each finished with 12 points, while Massie added 11 points as all five starters reached double figures. Geneva shot 32-of-69 (46%) from the floor and won the game from the three-point line, knocking down 14-of-27 (52%) from deep, with Trevor Tipton and Rachic combining to shoot 13-of-20 (65%) from long range. Geneva also won the battle of the boards, 44-39.
Westminster shot 33-of-76 (43%) from the floor and 9-of-21 (43%) from deep. The Titans had six players in double figures, led by Andrew Clark and Tre DePietro, who each scored 18 points.
"This was such a gutty win for us," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "We haven't had much success against these guys lately, so this gets the monkey off our back. I thought we took control early, and they outworked us a little bit late to get the game to overtime, but then we took over. Ryan showed the type of player he can be, and Trevor hit some huge threes in overtime. They were doubling Lyle much of the game, so we needed some other guys to step up. So, we'll enjoy this one, but this league is so tough every night, and we've got to get right back at it and get ready for a road trip to Bethany on Saturday."
Saturday's game at Bethany, set to tipoff at 3:00 p.m., is the last road game of the regular season for the men. Geneva closes the final week of the regular season with home games against W&J and Saint Vincent, two of the hottest teams in recent weeks in the PAC. If Geneva wins all three games, it will clinch the top seed going into the playoffs.
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).
