STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Geneva men's basketball team needed a win against Franciscan University, as well as a Grove City loss to Saint Vincent, to clinch the #4 seed in the upcoming Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs, and they got both of those on Saturday afternoon. A dominant first half defensively gave the Golden Tornadoes the cushion they needed for the remainder of the game, and the men closed the contest well to obtain the victory. The GTs end the regular season with a record of 14-11, 12-8 in PAC play, while Franciscan, who receives the sixth seed in the PAC playoffs, now sits at 15-10 overall, 10-10 in the PAC.

After Geneva struggled to score for the first two minutes of the game, freshman Tommy Coletti put the men on the board with a three-pointer. That bucket gave the GTs a 3-2 lead, and they never trailed after that. Graduate student Ryan Rachic scored the next six Geneva points, including a three-point shot, to put Geneva up by four, and a few minutes later junior Nick Million stuck a jumper to give the Golden Tornadoes' their first double-digit lead of the contest, 17-7.

Franciscan battled to stay close, but the Golden Tornadoes used excellent ball movement to get baskets from seniors Trevor Tipton and Mark Rachic, junior Alec Srock, Coletti and Ryan Rachic over the next five minutes to grow their lead to 18 points, 29-11. The Barons cut the deficit down to 14 briefly, but Geneva played solid defense over the last two minutes of the half and got another bucket from Ryan Rachic to take a 31-15 lead into the halftime break.

Free throws from Coletti and a transition layup by Ryan Rachic pushed the men's lead back to 18 points early in the second half. However, Franciscan used a quick 9-0 run to cut the deficit in half, and the home side trailed 37-28 with 13:13 left to play. Momentum seemed to favor the Barons, and despite baskets from Tipton and Ryan Rachic, Franciscan had brought the difference down to just five points by the eight-minute mark.

Geneva came out of the media timeout with a bang, scoring on three of their next four possessions and getting two game-changing three-pointers from Tipton and Ryan Rachic. Back up by 13 points, the men appeared to regain their confidence, and a jump shot by Mark Rachic put the score at 53-40 in Geneva's favor with 3:52 to play. The Barons got the deficit all the way down to five points again before the game ended, but the GTs hit their free throws down the stretch to secure the 57-48 victory.

Ryan Rachic's 23 points led the men, and he also grabbed 10 rebounds for his tenth double-double of the season, and fourth in a row. Tipton contributed 12 crucial points, and Mark Rachic led the team with three assists to go with eight points of his own. Geneva did not shoot the ball well, going just 21-for-55 (38%) as a team, but the men held the Barons, who shot 15-for-52 (29%) from the field, to an even lower mark.

"That was a really gutsy road win," commented head coach Jeff Santariero. "Any time you win on the road at the end of the year it's great, but there was a lot on the line for us today. In the first half, we locked everyone down. We got a little sloppy in the second half, and they made some good adjustments, but we were able to overcome those things. Ryan had a great game, and Trevor's two big three-pointers at the end were critical. We'll enjoy this one."

With Geneva's win and Grove City's loss, the two schools swap places in the PAC standings, putting the Golden Tornadoes as the #4 seed in the upcoming PAC playoffs. The GTs will play host to Grove City in a quarterfinal match-up this Tuesday, February 25^th, in a rematch from Wednesday when the men took down the Wolverines 63-55. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 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).