December 2, 2009 - Geneva College
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December 2, 2009

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Washington, PA - Two minutes into Wednesday night′s PAC opener for the Geneva College men′s basketball team, sophomore David Phillips knocked down a three point field goal that gave the Golden Tornadoes a two-point lead. It was a lead, as it turned out, that Geneva would never relinquish in a 77-65 victory against the President′s of Washington & Jefferson in the PAC opener for both teams. It also served as a sample of things to come for Phillips and his teammates on a night where Geneva′s big three showed up in a big way.

Geneva took an eight point lead to halftime and watched W & J claw back to within four points in the second half but the Golden Tornadoes held off the charge for their third consecutive victory to move to 4-3 on the young season.

"Another complete effort for our basketball team," said head coach Jeff Santarsiero. "Any time you can go on the road in this conference and get a win, it is big. We got great contributions from our main offensive threats and when that happens we have a great chance to be successful." The big three that Santarsiero was speaking of are Rich Colick, Dave Phillips and Lambros Svingos. The trio combined for 55 of Geneva′s 77 points on Wednesday night. Colick led the way for the sixth time in seven games with a team best 21 points and eight rebounds. Phillips accounted for 19 points including 3-7 from three-point range. Svingos did not miss a shot from the field going 5-5 and finishing the contest with 15 points and seven rebounds.

"We really took care of the basketball tonight," said Santarsiero. "This is the second straight game that we executed very well on the offensive end of the court." The statistics proved Santarsiero′s statement as the Golden Tornadoes only committed ten turnovers in the victory. Geneva shot 47% from the field, including a total of six three-point field goals.

Geneva has already picked up half as many wins as all of last year when it finished at 8-17 on the season. Geneva′s 4-3 start could mean good things throughout the winter months. "It is nice to get off to a solid start," said Santarsiero. "We have a lot of work to do, but we are thrilled with a road win to start conference play."

The Golden Tornadoes will be back in action at home on Saturday afternoon at 3 pm when they host Thiel College.

Geneva College is a comprehensive Christian college of the arts, sciences and professional studies. Founded in the tradition of the Reformed Christian faith, Geneva prepares students to serve Christ in all areas of society: work, family and the church. Geneva College′s philosophy of education is based on the Foundational Concepts of Christian Higher Education. Geneva is a founding member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU).

Dec 2, 2009