BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Senior Ryan Rachic had one of his best games in a Geneva uniform on Saturday afternoon inside Metheny Fieldhouse, putting together a huge game against visiting Bethany while notching his 1,000th career point in powering the Golden Tornadoes to an 82-65 victory over the Bison. The win, Geneva's fifth straight, improved the Golden Tornadoes' record to 13-2 overall, 9-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).
The men actually came out sluggish in the first half, though. Rachic and graduate student Isaac Massie did hit three-pointers in the opening minutes to help stake Geneva to an early 10-6 lead, but Golden Tornadoes went cold over the next several minutes, and turnovers were a problem for the men. Bethany answered with an 11-2 run to take a 17-12 lead midway through the first half.
The Bison eventually extended their lead to 25-17 with six minutes left in the half, forcing Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero to call a timeout. The men responded well out of the stoppage. Junior Trevor Tipton and sophomore Trey Barker hit jumpers, and after two Bison free throws, Barker knocked down a triple, and then the Rachic brothers, Ryan and Mark, hit back-to-back buckets. The last, by Mark, came with a foul, and he knocked down the free throw to give the men the lead back, 29-27.
The final few minutes were a grind for the men, but another three-pointer from Barker with less than a minute left gave Geneva a 34-31 lead at the halftime break.
The Bison opened the second half well. After Ryan Rachic began the period with a layup, Bethany scored the next seven points to regain the lead, 38-36. Rachic followed back-to-back baskets before the Bison pulled even at 40-40. That would be the last time the game was tied, though, as Massie hit another three-pointer on Geneva's next possession to give the Golden Tornadoes a lead they would never relinquish.
Bethany managed to stay close with Geneva over the next several minutes, though, pulling within 49-48 on a three-pointer with twelve minutes left. However, Massie hit another three-pointer, Rachic followed with a bucket, and then Tipton capped off a quick eight-point burst with a three-pointer to give the Golden Tornadoes a 57-48 lead.
Two minutes later, a layup by graduate student KC Johns gave Geneva its first double-digit lead of the game, 62-51, and Massie added on another three-pointer, his fourth in four attempts, to extend the Golden Tornado advantage, and the game was never in doubt the rest of the way. The only drama left was to see if Rachic could get the 23 points he needed to hit 1,000 career points. He accomplished that with a three-pointer and then two free throws with 1:45 left, setting off a big applause from the crowd.
Not only did Rachic have a big night offensively, finishing with 24 points, he also dominated the boards, grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds, to go along with two assists, two steals and two blocks. He was 10-of-18 from the floor, 2-of-2 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. He became the 41st player in program history to hit 1,000 career points, even more impressive considering he hit that mark in just two and a half seasons. He duplicated the feat that his father, Joe, achieved during his playing career in the 1990's, with the elder Rachic finishing his career with 1,340 career points, 21st all-time in school history. With one year of eligibility still remaining, Ryan is on pace to surpass his father's total.
Geneva also got big games from Tipton and Massie. Tipton finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooing from the floor, including 3-of-5 from deep. Massie was right behind with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 4-of-5 from long range. As a team Geneva hit 31-of-60 (51.7%) from the floor, including another impressive performance from deep, hitting 12-of-22 (54.5%) from three-point range. Rachic's work on the boards also allowed the men to outrebound Bethany, 49-34.
The Bison were led by sophomore Cole Dailey, who finished with 18 points. Bethany hit 26-of-72 (36.1%) from the floor, including just 6-of-33 (18.2%) from long range.
"I'm glad we won the game, even though we didn't play our best at times," said Coach Santarsiero. "We really struggled in the first half, but give credit to Bethany and the work that Coach Johnson has done to try to rebuild that program. We finally got things going in the second half, and Ryan was obviously tremendous for us all game inside. Achieving 1,000 points is a tribute to the player he is and the work he puts in, and I'm really happy for him. And now we turn our attention to Thiel because we have to play better than we did today, particularly in the first half."
The 13-2 start equals the second-best start to a season after 15 games in program history, equaled by four other teams in Geneva's 130-year history. Only the men's perfect 15-0 start in 1993-94, which was Joe Rachic's freshman season, was better. The men will try to extend their winning streak to six games next Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at Thiel, the only game of the week for the Golden Tornadoes.
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).
