GREENVILLE, Pa. – Junior Payton Triplett was unstoppable on Wednesday night, scoring a career-high 33 points to enable Geneva to leave Thiel with a hard-fought 79-74 victory.  The win was Geneva's sixth straight, improving its overall record to 14-2, 10-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). 
 
The first half was a display of two contrasting styles.  Geneva generated much of its offense from the perimeter, while Thiel almost exclusively found success inside the paint near the rim, using its size and athleticism to give the Golden Tornadoes problems.  Sophomore Trey Barker got the scoring started with a three-pointer.
 
Geneva had the better of the play early in the game, stretching its lead to 14-6 on a three-pointer from junior Trevor Tipton, but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't slow down Thiel's inside attack.  The Tomcats answered with an 8-2 run to close within two points before Barker drained another long-range shot.
 
Geneva could never create any distance over the final ten minutes of the half, though.  The teams alternated buckets often, and while the Golden Tornadoes led for almost the entire first half, Thiel used a late run to grab a 41-39 edge on a bucket off an offensive rebound at the buzzer.
 
The Golden Tornadoes got off to a great start in the second half.  Senior Ryan Rachic and Triplett opened the second half with back-to-back three-pointers, and the men would never trail again.   
 
Geneva used a zone defense early in the second half, and it slowed down the Thiel inside attack.  Meanwhile, Triplett added a free throw and three straight baskets in the paint to finish off the 13-point run to open the half, giving the Golden Tornadoes their first double-digit lead of the game, 53-41.  Triplett scored the final ten points of the run.  Five minutes later, another three-pointer from Triplett extended the edge to 61-49 midway through the half, which would be Geneva's biggest lead of the game.
 
Thiel tried to battle back, using an 11-4 run over the next four minutes to pull within 65-60, but a jumper from Rachic helped stem the tide.  A minute later, a layup from Triplett gave Geneva a double-digit lead back, 71-61.  The Tomcats tried a late run, but it wasn't enough as the Golden Tornadoes held on, 79-74.
 
Triplett scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half, scoring over half of Geneva's 40 points in the period.  For the game, he shot 12-of-16 from the floor, 4-of-4 from three-point range and 5-of-6 from the foul line.  Rachic added 16 points and Tipton 12 points for the Golden Tornadoes.  Geneva shot 28-of-55 (50.9%) from the floor, 9-of-23 (39.1%) from three-point range.
 
Thiel finished the game 32-of-67 (47.8%) from the floor, 4-of-14 (28.6%) from long range.  The Tomcats won the battle on the boards, 35-31, and committed just seven turnovers to stay close.  Ethan Barnes led Thiel with 18 points.
 
"We weren't great in the first half, but give Thiel some credit for that," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero.  "We played much better defensively in the second half, and obviously Payton carried us to victory.  He was tremendous, and our guards did a great job of realizing how well he was playing and getting him the ball in spots where he could score.  Any road win in this league is a good one, so we'll enjoy this one and will get a little rest this weekend before gearing up for a big week at home next week."
 
Geneva is off this Saturday before hosting Chatham next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.  The week ends with a home game against Grove City on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. for Pack the Gym Day.


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).