Van Zanic
Director of Sports Information
(724) 847-6886
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 21, 2008
SUCCESSFUL OPENING ACT, GENEVA ROLLS
INTO TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT FINALS
Beaver Falls, PA - The Geneva men′s basketball offensive show tipped off in grand style on Friday night. Head coach Jeff Santarsiero unveiled some new offensive toys as the Golden Tornadoes rolled to a 104-58 victory over Philadelphia Biblical University in the first round of the Tornado Tip-off Tournament.
After a slow start in the first five minutes saw the Golden Tornadoes trailing 17-12 as PBU extended its lead to a game high five points, Geneva closed out the remainder of the half on a 40-9 run to take a 52-26 lead into the locker room. The offensive showcase continued in the second half as the Golden Tornadoes out scored PBU 52-32 in the final 20 minutes.
Geneva played 15 players and 14 of those players found their way onto the score sheet. The much anticipated college debut of freshmen David Phillips (Beaver Falls, PA) and Lambros Svingos (Huntington, WV) turned out to be a ringing success. Svingos touched the ball four times in the first three minutes and came away with seven points. For the game, the 6′7 post man finished with 13 points on 4-5 shooting from the field. Phillips posted ten points, including 2-2 from three-point range. While the new freshmen performed well in their college debut, it was another newcomer to Geneva that stole the spotlight. Brandon Harvey (Monroeville, PA) played his first game with the Golden Tornadoes after starting his career at Seton Hill. Harvey scored a game high 18 points on 6-9 shooting, including a 4-6 effort from behind the arc.
The Golden Tornadoes managed the lopsided victory without senior point guard Justin Nardi in the line-up. Nardi was a late scratch after suffering throughout the day with a case of food poisoning. Bryce Salomone scored 11 points off the bench and Richard Colick made a successful return to the Geneva line-up with a 12 point effort. Colick missed the entire 2007-08 season with a broken wrist.
Geneva shot 53% from the field and forced 23 PBU turnovers in the opening game victory. The Golden Tornadoes will face Mt. Union College on Saturday at 3 pm in the Tip-Off Tournament finals. Mt. Union earned a trip to the championship with a 76-40 victory over Penn State New Kensington.
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