PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Despite a hot-shooting first half for senior Trey Barker in which he went 4-for-5 from three-point range, the injury-depleted Geneva men's basketball team struggled to keep up with the Chatham Cougars on Saturday, dropping their Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) contest on the road, 89-71. The men's record now sits at 9-14 overall and 6-8 in PAC play, having already clinched a playoff spot. The Cougars move up to 15-7 with their win, 10-4 in the PAC.

The Golden Tornadoes scored the first eight points of the game, with Barker hitting back-to-back three-pointers within the first two minutes. Their lead extended to 12-3 thanks to another Barker bucket and a jumper from sophomore Tommy Coletti, but the Cougars scored seven straight to pull within two points just two minutes later. Geneva absorbed the hit, receiving another triple from Barker as well as a Coletti layup, and the GTs found themselves ahead 17-10 at the 13:29 mark of the first half.

Chatham stuck around for the next several minutes, chipping away but never able to narrow the gap below three points. A couple of baskets in close by senior Alec Srock allowed the men to maintain their edge, and Barker hit yet another three-ball with three minutes to play in the half to make Geneva's lead 39-32. The Cougars responded well, outscoring the GTs 9-2 over the remainder of the half to send the two sides into the locker rooms tied at 41-all.

The Cougars stormed out of the halftime break, going on a 14-2 run to open the period and extending their run from the end of the first half to 23-4. Trailing by 12 points, the Golden Tornadoes scored seven in a row of their own, making the score 55-50 in favor of the hosts, but Chatham quickly bumped its advantage back into the double-digits, where it stayed for most of the rest of the game. The Cougars came away with an 89-71 victory.

Chatham shot an astounding 33-for-61 (54.1%) from the field on the afternoon, compared to a 25-of-62 (40.3%) effort by Geneva. The Golden Tornadoes did shoot better from behind the arc, going 8-for-19 (42.1%) while the Cougars were 10-of-25 (40.0%), but it wasn't enough to make up for Chatham's 42-24 advantage in points in the paint.

Barker ended with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including an excellent 5-for-8 performance from deep. Srock contributed 14 points and eight rebounds, while Coletti posted a double-double with 11 points and a team-high 10 boards. Junior Ryan Edwards dished out five assists in the loss.

"I was really proud of our start," said head coach Jeff Santarsiero afterward. "I thought that first half was some of the best basketball we've played all year. A couple of missed shots set us back in the second half, and we lost some of our defensive intensity as well. Like I said, I'm proud of our effort through most of that game - I think if we were to play that team again we would be very capable of beating them. Now we've got a big week coming up, starting with Hiram."

The GTs have just two games remaining in the regular season, traveling to Hiram on Wednesday, February 18, for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off before finishing things up at home against Westminster the following 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).