WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Geneva College men's basketball team saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday at W&J, dropping an overtime decision to the Presidents, 92-89, in a game the Golden Tornadoes actually led for much of the night. Geneva falls to 20-3 overall, 16-2 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) and sees its lead in the conference fall to just one game over Saint Vincent.
An early bucket by sophomore Jonathan Bertovich four minutes into the game gave Geneva a 13-11 lead, and a three-pointer from graduate student Isaac Massie, followed by a three-pointer from junior Trevor Tipton, extended the lead to 19-11, an edge the Golden Tornadoes would hold for much of the game.
W&J managed to close within 31-29 with five minutes left in the half, but the Golden Tornadoes scored the next nine points on four points from senior Ryan Rachic, a bucket from Massie and a three-pointer from sophomore Trey Barker. That pushed the Geneva advantage over double digits for the first time, 40-29, and the Golden Tornadoes eventually took a 42-34 lead into the break behind 11 first-half points from Rachic.
The Geneva lead fluctuated between four and eight points for much of the second half, and a three-point play from junior Payton Triplett extended the margin to 64-55 with nine minutes remaining, despite the Golden Tornadoes struggling to hit outside shots.
However, W&J, which shot the ball well from the perimeter all game, got especially hot from deep, hitting three straight three-pointers, and the Presidents eventually retook the lead, 69-68, with 4:32 left, their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. After a Triplett bucket, W&J knocked down another long-range shot, forcing Geneva to play from behind for the rest of the game.
The Golden Tornadoes managed to battle, though, and eventually sent the game to overtime on a long shot from Tipton with 20 seconds remaining that was ruled a two-point shot because of a toe on the three-point line.
Geneva never could get its offense on track, though, in the overtime period. W&J scored the opening two buckets of the extra frame, and the Golden Tornadoes could never catch back up. Two free throws from Rachic pulled Geneva within 85-84 with 1:30 left, but another Presidents three-pointer with 30 seconds left effectively sealed the victory, and the Presidents held on for the 92-89 win.
Rachic led the team with 25 points, while Massie added 24 points and Triplett 20 points. Tipton chipped in with 13 points. The final stats showed that it was probably remarkable Geneva even got the game to overtime, as the Presidents held edges in most statistical categories.
Geneva finished the game shooting 33-of-76 (43.4%) from the floor and just 8-of-33 (24.2%) from three-point range, while W&J shot 35-of-66 (53.0%) from the floor and 10-of-22 (45.5%) from three-point range. The Golden Tornadoes held a slim 42-38 edge in rebounds but committed three more turnovers than W&J. Alex Acosta led the Presidents with 30 points.
"W&J just played better than us tonight, and they executed better than us down the stretch," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "It was a good effort from our guys just to get the game to overtime, and we were very fortunate to even get the game to an extra period with the way we were playing and shooting the ball. Give W&J credit for making shots when we couldn't. Losing is never fun, but this hopefully will be a good opportunity to reset for us as we come to the end of the regular season and get ready for the playoffs."
Geneva still controls its own destiny for the top seed for the upcoming PAC Playoffs. The men travel to Bethany on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff before closing the regular season next Wednesday at home against Westminster.
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).
