BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva men's basketball team earned a near wire-to-wire victory against Mount Aloysius College on Tuesday evening, controlling the game from start to finish in their 85-78 win. Geneva's lead got as big as 22 points at one point in the second half before a last-gasp comeback attempt by the visitors narrowed the score at the end. With the win, the Golden Tornadoes' record jumps to 2-1 overall, while the Mounties have lost their first three games to open the season.

Senior Trey Barker got things started for the GTs on their first possession of the game, scoring in the post off a nice assist from senior Jonathan Bertovich. The Mounties scored the next two baskets to briefly grab a two-point edge, but that proved to be the final time the visitors saw the lead as a three-pointer by Nick Million put Geneva back in front, 5-4. That bucket jump-started a 9-0 run by the men which culminated in another Barker layup, giving Geneva an 11-4 edge.

The Mounties started to chip away, narrowing the gap to two points, but layups by sophomores Austin Matthews and Tommy Coletti kept the GTs in front. Mount Aloysius hung around, however, eventually pulling even at 25-25 via a three-pointer. The men did not cave, answering with a trey of their own from Coletti, and shortly thereafter used a 10-0 run to regain control. Matthews made another short jumper to close out the half, and Geneva led 40-29 heading into the break.

The Golden Tornadoes began the second half on a tear, knocking down their first six shot attempts of the period to grab a 17-point lead. Senior Alec Srock was the catalyst, scoring six points in that sequence, and a three-ball from Coletti made it 56-38 just over five minutes into the half. The two sides traded buckets for a couple of minutes before a Coletti stick-back sandwiched by three-pointers from Million and Barker gave the men their largest lead of the game, 70-48, with just under eight minutes to play.

Mount Aloysius called a timeout to regroup, and it immediately paid dividends as the visitors ripped off 12 straight points to make it a ten-point game. Freshman Tayt Lucas stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer, but the Mounties continued to hang around. They cut the gap to seven points with 20 seconds to go, but the GTs made their free throws down the stretch to secure the win, 85-78.

After setting a career-high in Friday's season-opener, Coletti finished Tuesday's win with a new personal-best, netting 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a 3-for-5 effort from distance and three blocks. Barker scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, hitting two threes himself, while Srock notched 13 points and seven rebounds. Matthews was the team's leading rebounder, grabbing a career-best eight boards, and he also finished with a career-high 12 points in the win. Bertovich set a career-high with 10 assists. As a team, the men shot an incredible 59.6% from the field, going 10-for-20 (50%) from behind the arc.

"The last two games, we've had trouble playing with the lead," commented head coach Jeff Santarsiero afterward. "We've got to make better decisions with the ball, and that will come with experience. I challenged them in the locker room to get back to basic basketball, and I think we'll be ok. We're looking forward to playing two really good teams over the weekend."

The men head to Pittsburgh on Friday for the first day of a tournament down at Chatham University. They will take on Lynchburg at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 21^st before a 12:00 p.m. contest with SUNY Potsdam the next day.

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).