Bethany, WV - Geneva College head men′s basketball coach Jeff Santarsiero is in his 16th season at the helm for the Golden Tornadoes. Prior to becoming the head coach, Santarsiero spent eight seasons on the bench as an assistant for Geneva College. During those 24 years, Santarsiero has never experienced the kind of start to a season that the Golden Tornadoes are being forced to endure. In fact, Geneva′s 82-51 loss to Bethany on Saturday pushed Geneva′s overall record to 1-6 for the first time to start a season in 30 years. Not since the 1981-82 campaign have the Golden Tornadoes opened a year with one victory in the first seven games. Playing in their first season as an official member of Division III and the Presidents′ Athletic Conference, the Golden Tornadoes are still in search of that first conference victory.
Geneva shot a solid 44% from the field in the first half but again struggled from long range with a mark of 1-7 from outside the arc in the first 20 minutes. The Golden Tornadoes trailed 39-26 heading to the locker room and were still within striking distance heading into the second half. The Bison jumped all over Geneva in the second half and outscored the Golden Tornadoes 43-25 in the final 20 minutes while shooting 47% from the field and a ridiculous 9-12 (75%) from three-point range. For the game, Bethany knocked down 12 three-point field goals while forcing 24 Geneva turnovers.
Matt Lorello was Geneva′s only player to reach double figures with 15 points on 6-10 shooting from the field. Lorello and Brady Beech each finished with a team best six rebounds in the loss. Bethany got 26 points from Brady Pacific on 10-11 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-6 from three-point range. James Barton knocked down three treys en route to a 15 point performance. Bethany remained unbeaten on the season at 6-0 including a 2-0 mark in the PAC while Geneva still looks for its first conference victory.
The Golden Tornadoes will take another shot at that first PAC win on Wednesday night when they return to Metheny Fieldhouse to take on Waynesburg at 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).
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