NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team carried its winning ways into the new year, defeating Westminster 79-66 on the road on Wednesday night in the first game of 2024 for both teams. Geneva improved to 12-2 overall, their best record to start a season since the 1997-98 season, while moving to 8-1 in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play. The Titans dropped to 6-7 overall, 4-5 in the PAC.
The men, who are second in all of NCAA Division III in three-point shooting at 43% as a team, used strong three-point shooting again on Wednesday to lead the offense. A triple from graduate student Isaac Massie, a minute after junior Payton Triplett knocked down a long-range shot, gave Geneva a 10-9 advantage three minutes into the game, and the Golden Tornadoes would never trail again.
Senior Ryan Rachic and junior Trevor Tipton followed with three-pointers, giving the Golden Tornadoes four three-pointers in a row to extend their lead to 16-9 four minutes into the game.
Westminster battled back to pull within 21-18 midway through the half, but Geneva answered with a 10-2 run, capped off by another three-pointer from Tipton, to take its first double-digit lead of the game, 31-20. A traditional three-point play from Massie pushed the lead to 40-27, the biggest of the half, before the Titans pulled within 44-36 at the break. Tipton led the team with 13 points, while Rachic added 10 points in the half as the Golden Tornadoes hit 8-of-11 three-pointers before the break.
Sophomore Jonathan Bertovich sparked the offense early in the second half, knocking down a jumper and a three-pointer early, pushing the Geneva edge to 51-38. The Golden Tornado advantage then hovered between 10 and 13 points for the next ten minutes before Bertovich and Tipton knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to give the Golden Tornadoes a 74-58 edge with six minutes left, and Geneva comfortably closed out the win, 79-66.
All five starters scored in double figures for Geneva, led by Tipton's 17 points, including 4-of-6 shooting from deep. Rachic added 16 points, Triplett 15 points and Massie 12 points and 11 rebounds. Bertovich was the final starter in double figures with 11 points, including 3-of-3 shooting from deep. As a team Geneva shot 28-of-60 (46.7%) from the floor and 12-of-24 (50%) from three-point range. The Golden Tornadoes also outrebounded Westminster 41-32.
"It's always good to win at Westminster," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "We shot it pretty well tonight, especially in the first half, and then we played good team defense when we needed to. I thought Payton was really good for us again tonight, and Ryan gave us some good production as well. Trevor is just so consistent, and his and JB's (Bertovich) three-pointers in the second half really sealed the win. Add in Isaac's performance and our starters all really played well, and when we're balanced like that, we're tough to beat."
Quincy Jones led Westminster with a game-high 20 points. The Titans finished 28-of-67 (41.8%) from the floor and 4-of-19 (21.1%) from three-point range.
The men will return home on Saturday looking for their fifth straight win when Geneva hosts Bethany inside Metheny Fieldhouse at 3:00 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).
