ASHLAND, Va. – Graduate student Isaac Massie and the rest of the Geneva College men's basketball team saw their season come to an end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night, falling to #24 Saint Joseph (CT) 97-83 at Randolph Macon. The loss wraps up a tremendous season, and a tremendous career for Massie, as the Golden Tornadoes finished their season 24-4, grabbing the program's first Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship while making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Geneva got matched up against a Saint Joseph squad in the first round that was riding a 16-game winning streak, a program that last season advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Jays got off to a hot start, making their first five shots of the game in jumping out to a quick 11-2 lead.
A jumper from senior Ryan Rachic got the Golden Tornado offense going, though, and after Geneva got a couple defensive stops while adding a three-pointer from junior Payton Triplett, another bucket from Rachic and two free throws from junior Trevor Tipton, the Golden Tornadoes quickly pulled within 13-11.
The Blue Jays stretched their lead back to 19-13 before a jumper from Massie, a three-pointer from Tipton and a bucket from Rachic gave the Golden Tornadoes their first lead of the game, 20-19, eight minutes into the game.
Both teams found success offensively over the final 12 minutes of the first half, and neither team led by more than three points over those final dozen minutes. Geneva's biggest lead was on a Massie jumper, 28-26, while Saint Joseph's biggest edge was 33-30 with five minutes to go. Fittingly, the two squads went into the break almost even, with the Blue Jays holding a slim 42-41 edge. Saint Joseph hit 61% from the floor, while Geneva hit 50% of its shots. Rachic led Geneva with 10 points.
Saint Joseph began the second half like it did the first half, converting five straight buckets after an early empty possession. Geneva hung with the Blue Jays for a while, but Saint Joseph's length and athleticism proved a challenge for the Golden Tornado defense to hold down. After two free throws from Massie cut the deficit to five, the Blue Jays scored five quick points to take their first double-digit lead of the game, 64-54, with eleven minutes remaining.
Foul trouble began to become an issue for the Golden Tornadoes, though Massie, Tipton and Rachic tried to keep the Golden Tornadoes close. Saint Joseph extended its edge to 80-68 before a bucket from junior Mark Rachic, and two free throws and layup from Massie pulled the Golden Tornadoes within 80-74 with three minutes left.
That was as close as Geneva could get, though, as the Golden Tornadoes couldn't get late stops and the Blue Jays hit their free throws down the stretch to win 97-83 and put an end to Geneva's tremendous season.
In a poetic note to finish his career, Massie, who wears #24, finished with 24 points to lead the men in his final game. Tipton and Ryan Rachic each added 17 points, while Mark Rachic reached double figures again off the bench with 10 points. Geneva shot 29-of-60 (48%) from the floor, but just 6-of-19 (31.6%) from three-point range.
Geneva's defense could never find an answer for the Saint Joseph attack. The Blue Jays shot 34-of-57 (59.6%) from the floor and 7-of-16 (43.8%) from deep. Saint Joseph was led by a career-high 29 points from Jalen Samuels.
"I'm just super proud of our team and what they accomplished this season winning a PAC Championship and getting to the national stage," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero. "Obviously we would have liked to have won tonight. I didn't think we played poorly, but we had a couple bad stretches and just couldn't get the stops we needed against a really good Saint Joseph team. We battled to the end, though, and we had a chance late down six, but we couldn't make the plays we needed to win. Isaac wraps up his career by leading our team in his final game, as he's done all year, and I'm really happy for him to have this experience."
Massie is a big loss for the program to replace, but the Golden Tornadoes are slated to return everyone else on the roster, which sets Geneva up well to make another run at a PAC Championship and a trip to the national tournament. The 24 wins this season are tied for the fifth most in program history.
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).
