LATROBE, Pa. – Saint Vincent College took off early against the Geneva men's basketball team Saturday evening, and the Golden Tornadoes could not find a way to regain the lead in the second half of a 77-62 loss. In a game that represented a rematch of the two teams in last year's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) championship game, the injuries that have haunted Geneva so far this season loomed large as two of the starters from last year's title-winning squad were forced to sit on the bench. The men's record falls to 2-5 overall, 2-2 in the PAC, while Saint Vincent jumps to 6-3 overall, 3-2 in the conference.

Both sides traded buckets at the outset of the game, with graduate students KC Johns and Ryan Rachic splashing jump shots early on. Another jump shot by senior Mark Rachic brought the Golden Tornadoes within four points, 10-6, but at that point Saint Vincent took off. The home side went on a 13-0 run to take a large first-half lead, 23-6, with 12:07 to play before the break.

A Ryan Rachic jumper put an end to the Bearcats streak, and his three-pointer on the next possession brought the GTs back within 12. Saint Vincent continued to score, however, and the home team steadily wore down the Geneva defense over the next several possessions. With just under three minutes to play in the half, Ryan Rachic and Johns hit jump shots on back-to-back possessions before junior Jonathan Bertovich hit one from long range. That got Geneva back within 11 points, which had been their smallest deficit in the last several minutes. It proved to be the last basket scored of the half, and the two sides went into the locker rooms with Saint Vincent leading 33-22.

Geneva opened the second half on a short 6-2 run thanks to layups from Johns and freshman Tommy Coletti, which brought Geneva within single digits for the first time since the early stages of the game. The Bearcats responded with nine consecutive points of their own, putting the GTs back in a sizable hole.

The Golden Tornadoes fell down 20 points with 13:23 to play, but they continued to fight. Three-pointers from junior Nick Million and Coletti gave the Geneva offense some life, and a Ryan Rachic jumper combined with another trey from Million brought the GTs within 11 with just under ten minutes to play. Unfortunately, the men could not get stops down the stretch, trading baskets with the Bearcats for the next several minutes. They never got the deficit under double digits and ended up dropping the contest 77-62.

Ryan Rachic was the lone bright spot offensively for the men, scoring 25 points while dishing out three assists. His brother, Mark Rachic, scored 10 points of his own to go along with 6 rebounds, and Bertovich led the team with eight boards and four assists. The GTs shot 19-of-54 (35%) from the field, including 6-of-15 (40%) from three-point range. On the flip side, Saint Vincent was 33-of-67 (49%) from the field, and turned the ball over just three times compared to Geneva's eight. Osyon Jones led the home side with 24 points.

"Saint Vincent's always a really tough place to play," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero after the loss. "They shot the ball well early, and we missed a couple of easy ones around the basket that made it difficult for us to get back into it. We made some good runs, but we allowed their best players to get in their comfort zones, and that's a tough way to play a basketball game. We'll have a couple of days to rest and prepare for W&J, which is another really good basketball team."

The men will play just once next week, a road tilt against Washington and Jefferson on Tuesday, December 10^th. That game is set to tip-off at 8:00 PM.

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).