February 2, 2011 - Geneva College
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February 2, 2011

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Crestview Hills, KY - Thomas More College has not been a friendly place for most PAC schools to play in recent years. On Wednesday night, the Geneva College men′s basketball team took its shot against the Saints after having drubbed the Saints 102-73 at Metheny Fieldhouse earlier the year. The task this time around was not quite that easy but in the end the result was the same. Richard Colick′s offense rebound and put back at the buzzer proved to be the difference in a 65-63 victory over Thomas More. Geneva improved to 15-5 on the season matching its best start in the 15 year coaching era of Jeff Santarsiero.

Colick picked up of early first half fouls and scored just two points before halftime as the Golden Tornadoes went to the locker room trailing 37-31. The senior guard made up for lost time with 21 second half points to finish with a game high 23 in helping the Golden Tornadoes win in Kentucky for the first time. Equally as important to his scoring were a pair of late offensive rebounds. With the game tied at 63-63, Dave Phillips missed a three point field goal with 30 seconds left in regulation. Colick grabbed the rebound and gave the Golden Tornadoes the final possession of the half. Colick took a shot with five seconds and the rebound deflected off of Lambros Svingos and right into Colick′s hands. Still in the air, Colick released the ball with 0.4 seconds on the clock and the ball found the net as time expired. "What a win for our guys," said head coach Jeff Santarsiero. "We have had no success down here in the past and to win the game the way we won the game just re-emphasizes the heart of these guys. Colick made the big basket but we had a lot of people contribute tonight. I couldn′t be prouder of everyone on that bench."

With Colick on the bench in the first half, Drew Santarsiero kept Geneva close with three treys and nine points off the bench. Bryan Hill took over in the second half with a total of 16 points in the game and four three-point field goals. With Geneva trailing by five points midway through the second half, Hill connected on three consecutive treys to give the Golden Tornadoes back the lead. "Bryan hit some big shots in the second half when we were struggling a bit on offense. That stretch of three consecutive jumpers gave us a lot of confidence down the stretch."

Geneva came up with a total of 11 offensive rebounds in the game including Colick′s two game winning rebounds in the final seconds. The Golden Tornadoes out rebounded Thomas More 36-23 for the game and held the Saints to just eight second half field goals.

Geneva will return home on Saturday night to face Saint Vincent College as the Golden Tornadoes look to avenge an early season loss to the Bearcats. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

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).

Feb 2, 2011