BRADFORD, Pa. – The Geneva men's basketball team fell to Pitt-Bradford on the road Monday night, dropping their contest against the high-scoring Panthers 96-88. The hosts took a double-digit lead late in the first half, and the Golden Tornadoes found themselves playing catch-up the rest of the way. They were able to cut the deficit back to the single digits late, but it wasn't enough as they dropped to 3-3 on the season. Pitt-Bradford, a team that won a game in the NCAA Division III National Tournament last year, has started this year 5-1.
Baskets by sophomore
Austin Matthews and senior
Jonathan Bertovich on Geneva's first two possessions gave the men an early 4-2 edge, but the Panthers took the lead right back with a three-pointer on the next possession. It remained a one-score game until five minutes into the half, when back-to-back buckets in the paint from senior
Alec Srock and sophomore
Tommy Coletti put Geneva up 16-10.
The Panthers punched back with a 14-0 run over the next five minutes, swinging all the momentum back in their favor. An and-one for Coletti, followed by a Bertovich triple, pulled Geneva back within two points, but that was the closest the men would get for the rest of the game. The Pitt-Bradford lead quickly swelled into the double-digits, getting as high as 19 points before a layup from Bertovich made the score 52-35 Panthers right before the first half ended.
The Golden Tornadoes responded in the second half by scoring the first nine points of the period, with seven coming from Srock. Play went back-and-forth over the next several minutes between the two sides, but the GTs could not find a way to cut the deficit to anything lower than seven points. Pitt-Bradford eventually pushed its lead to 20 with 3:19 to play, but a last-gasp comeback attempt from the men that included three Bertovich three-pointers wound up reducing the final difference to eight points, with the hosts coming away with a 96-88 win.
Bertovich and Srock each set career-highs in scoring, notching 28 and 24 points apiece. Most of Bertovich's scoring came from the three-point line, where he went 7-for-12, and he paired that effort with four assists and four steals for another solid performance. Matthews led the team with 12 rebounds, recording 14 points as well, while Coletti contributed 11 points and seven rebounds of his own. The men shot 53.2% from the field compared to just 45% for Pitt-Bradford, but turnovers made a big difference, with the GTs giving the ball away 26 times compared to the Panthers' 15.
"They're a really good team," head coach
Jeff Santarsiero said of Pitt-Bradford following the loss. "Bad first halves have killed us this season, and our assist-to-turnover ratio in the first half tonight was not good. I was proud of our guys' second half effort - JB, Alec, and Austin all had really good games. We just need to learn that we can't turn the ball over against good teams. We'll get a much-needed break for the holiday now, and we'll prepare to face another good team on the other side of it."
The Golden Tornadoes will have a few days off before hosting Pitt-Greensburg this Saturday, November 29
th, at 2:00 p.m.
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).
