BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team extended its winning streak to eight games on Saturday afternoon inside Metheny Fieldhouse, overcoming a hot-shooting Grove City squad in front of the biggest Geneva crowd of the season, 82-73. Geneva's record is now an impressive 16-2 overall, 12-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Grove City dropped to 9-8, 6-7 in the PAC. The win also moved Geneva into a tie for first place in the PAC after Saint Vincent suffered its first loss of the season at Westminster on Saturday.
Geneva came into the game as the best three-point shooting team in NCAA Division III, while Grove City came in with one of the lowest three-point shooting percentages in the conference. The Wolverines had not relied heavily on the outside shot for its offense for much of the season, but fans wouldn't have guessed that about either team with the way the game started.
The Wolverines opened the game with a three-pointer, and it proved to be a sign of things to come. Five minutes into the game, Grove City's third triple extended the Wolverine lead to 15-5, which was already more made three-pointers than the two outside shots Grove City made in the first matchup between these two teams earlier in the season that Geneva won by 24 points. The Golden Tornadoes, on the other hand, made just 2-of-9 from three-point range to start the game, despite some great looks.
One of those Geneva triples came from junior Trevor Tipton after Grove City had taken that double-digit lead, and the shot slowly began the comeback from the Golden Tornadoes. The Wolverines continued to hit outside shots, though, enough to keep Geneva at arm's length for much of the half. It was the hot shooting of Tipton, though, that eventually gave the Golden Tornadoes their first lead late in the half.
After missing his first two three-pointers of the game, Tipton made his final five long-range shots of the first half, including one that he was fouled on and converted into a four-point play. Geneva finally took its first lead on a Tipton three-pointer with 2:46 left in the half, 37-36, and junior Payton Triplett followed with layup.
Grove City's Chase Yarberough, who came into the game having made just 11 three-pointers all season while hitting just 25% of his long-range shots, answered with another three-pointer, his fourth in six tries in the half, to pull the Wolverines even. Triplett responded with a layup, and then Tipton closed the half with back-to-back three-pointers, allowing Geneva to take a 47-39 lead into the break, despite Grove City hitting 9-of-13 three-pointers. Tipton led all scorers with 18 points in the half.
The halftime break didn't seem to cool Grove City off much, as the Wolverines hit another three-pointer on the opening possession of the second half. However, three-pointers from senior Ryan Rachic and sophomore Trey Barker, followed by a bucket from graduate student Isaac Massie, gave Geneva its first double-digit lead of the game, 57-46, three minutes into the half.
The lead wouldn't last, though, as several Geneva turnovers, combined with continued strong shooting from the Wolverines, allowed Grove City respond with a 15-4 run, the final points coming on another Yarberough three-pointer, to pull level at 61-61. Geneva never let the Wolverines retake the lead, though, as Massie drained a three-pointer in response. Massie followed with two free throws, and then Tipton knocked down his sixth three-pointer to cap off a quick eight-point burst for the Golden Tornadoes midway through the half.
Grove City never really threatened again after that quick burst. The Geneva lead never dipped below six points the rest of the game, eventually moving as high as 78-66 on two late Massie free throws, before the Golden Tornadoes finished off the 82-73 victory.
Tipton led the offense with 25 points, including 6-of-9 shooting from three-point range. Rachic had another strong game on the day he was recognized before the contest for surpassing 1,000 career points, finishing with 20 points. Massie also had a huge game, scoring 17 points while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists. Barker added a career-high eight points off the bench. Geneva was again tremendous shooting the ball, finishing 29-of-53 (54.7%) from the floor and an even better 12-of-21 (57.1%) from three-point range.
Yarberough led Grove City with a season-best 28 points, including 6-of-10 shooting from three-point range, more than half of his season total of made three-pointers coming into the game. The Wolverines finished the game shooting 26-of-58 (44.8%) from the floor and was even hotter than Geneva from deep, making 13-of-22 (59.1%).
"This was another hard-fought rivalry matchup with Grove City," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "We were a little surprised with how well they shot the ball from the perimeter all game, especially early on, but you have to make adjustments, and I thought we did that. Trevor was huge in the first half, Ryan gave us some really strong play on a night we were able to honor him beforehand, and then I just thought Isaac took over the game in the second half. He scored it, he passed it and he rebounded it, and he led us to the win. So we'll enjoy this one and then get ready for a tough week next week with two road games."
The men will travel to Franciscan on Wednesday for a game, and the Golden Tornadoes close the week with a game at Allegheny on Saturday.
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).
