BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva men's basketball team fought hard till the end against Saint Vincent College on Saturday, but the Bearcats came away with the victory in a low-scoring affair, 59-54. The men battled back after a slow start to the game, taking a halftime lead, but fell short in the end as Saint Vincent closed the game well. Geneva's record falls to 9-10 overall, 7-7 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while the Bearcats move up to 15-4, 11-3 in PAC play.

The Golden Tornadoes came out of the gate slowly, with the men unable to score a basket until six and a half minutes had ticked off the clock. Fortunately, strong team defense kept Saint Vincent from building much of a lead, and after junior Nick Million stuck a fadeaway jumper at the 13:32 mark Geneva only trailed 4-2. Million scored a fast-break layup to tie the score, but Geneva continued to struggle offensively as the half wore on.

Despite Geneva's shooting woes, the GTs kept Saint Vincent from scoring many points over the next several minutes, with three free throws by senior Mark Rachic followed by another Million layup giving the men their first lead of the game, 15-13, with four minutes to play in the first half. Senior Trevor Tipton drilled a three-pointer from the wing to give the GTs a five-point cushion, and they held onto the lead for the remainder of the half thanks to buckets by junior Jonathan Bertovich and freshman Tommy Coletti. The Golden Tornadoes led by six at the break, 24-18.

A short jump shot by graduate student Ryan Rachic kept the difference at six points early in the second half, but seven consecutive points by the Bearcats allowed the visitors to retake the lead, 27-26. Play went back-and-forth for the next several minutes, with a three-pointer and layup by Million allowing Geneva to go ahead by two possessions, 33-29. A Mark Rachic three-pointer with 12:16 to play made the GTs' lead 38-33, but that proved to be the largest lead for Geneva from then on out.

Saint Vincent outscored the men 11-4 over the next three and a half minutes to take a four-point lead, 48-44, with 5:51 to play. The Golden Tornadoes got to the free-throw line several times over the final few minutes, but they could not string enough stops together defensively to come back against the Bearcats, and Saint Vincent closed the half out well to win the game 59-54.

The men struggled to shoot the ball all afternoon, making just 17-of-54 (32%) shots from the field in the loss, including a 3-for-17 (18%) mark from distance. Mark Rachic led the GTs in both points (17) and rebounds (six), while his brother Ryan scored 11 points to go with five boards and four assists. Million contributed 11 points off the bench on 5-for-7 shooting, pulling down four rebounds as well. Osyon Jones led Saint Vincent, finishing with team-highs in points (15) and rebounds (seven).

"This is the first time that our lack of execution at the end of a game and our inability to not hit open shots caught up to us," said Head Coach Jeff Santarsiero afterward. "The effort was there - it was a physical game - but [Saint Vincent] answered the call, and we did not. To beat the number two team in the conference you need to play a flawless game – we played pretty well for 35 minutes, but we need to be able to finish games."

Geneva plays twice next week, once at home and once on the road. The men host W&J on Wednesday, February 5^th, at 7:30 p.m., before heading to West Virginia for a contest with Bethany on Saturday.

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).