BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva men's basketball team earned their first victory of the season Saturday afternoon on day two of the Coaches Versus Cancer Classic, defeating Carlow University 82-68. After falling to Lancaster Bible yesterday on the first day of the Classic, the Golden Tornadoes rebounded with a much better performance all-around. The win moves Geneva to 1-1 on the year, while Carlow remains winless at 0-4.

After the Celtics scored on the game's opening possession, the GTs responded the first time they touched the ball with a three-pointer by sophomore Tommy Coletti, who was coming off a 20-point performance from the day before. Senior Jonathan Bertovich had a beautiful finger-roll layup at the end of the shot clock just a few moments later, and after Coletti followed that up with another triple and a layup of his own, Carlow was forced to call timeout with Geneva ahead 11-3.

The Celtics pulled within five points over the next minute and a half, but back-to-back hook shots from sophomore Austin Matthews helped Geneva regain control. The visitors struck right back with an 8-2 run, and despite a couple of good baskets by seniors Trey Barker and Alec Srock, the Celtics were able to stay close, tying the score at 27 apiece with four minutes to play in the half.

Consecutive buckets in the paint from Srock pushed momentum back in Geneva's favor, and then freshman Tayt Lucas drained a three-pointer to put the GTs ahead by eight. That was where the difference stayed, and Geneva went into the break with a 40-32 edge.

Two more Srock baskets and a Bertovich trey pushed the Golden Tornadoes' lead to 14 points right off the bat in the second half, and a few moments later a three-ball by junior Ryan Edwards made it a 15-point difference. The Celtics began to work their way back at that point though, chipping away until they were within three points with ten minutes to play.

Three-pointers by Edwards and Bertovich put a stop to the Carlow comeback attempt, and a Coletti layup at the 6:29 mark boosted the Geneva lead back into the double-digits. Barker stuck a triple of his own two minutes later to put the men up 15, and they controlled the rest of the way en route to an 82-68 victory.

Barker was the leading scorer for Geneva on the day, putting together a 19-point effort on 8-for-14 shooting. Coletti and Srock finished with 15 points and eight rebounds each, with Coletti also grabbing three blocks and a spot on the All-Tournament team for his performance over the two days. Bertovich finished with a team-high six assists in the win.

"It was a good bounce-back win," said head coach Jeff Santarsiero after the game. "We didn't play a completely clean game, and we're still not defending the way we'd like to, but I thought Tommy had a good tournament, and Austin did a great job of keeping us in the game early today. This group is going to gain confidence as the season goes on, and I liked what I saw for most of the game today."

The Golden Tornadoes remain at home for their next contest, a 7:30 p.m. matchup with Mount Aloysius on Tuesday, November 18^th. After that, the men will head to Chatham for a tournament the following weekend.

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).