Waynesburg, PA - For only the second time this season, the Geneva College men′s basketball team picked up a conference road victory. The Golden Tornadoes, which had lost three straight coming into play on Saturday, picked up a 70-58 victory at Waynesburg to sweep the season series against the Yellow Jackets. The victory came at the right time for the Golden Tornadoes as it moved their overall record to 5-14 including a 4-7 mark in conference play. Paired with losses by Grove City and Westminster on Saturday, Geneva moved into sole possession of fifth place in the Presidents′ Athletic Conference with just five league games remaining in the regular season.
Following seven ties and eight lead changes in the first half, Waynesburg reached the halftime buzzer with a 27-26 lead. A pair of Lambros Svingos free throws at the 15:16 mark of the second half gave Geneva a 40-34 lead. The Golden Tornadoes stretched their lead to 11 points at 51-40 at the 9:50 mark. At the 4:45 mark, Geneva had its biggest lead of the game at 61-47 following another pair of free throws from Svingos. The Yellow Jackets tried to get back into the game late but Geneva never allowed Waynesburg to get closer than eight points down the stretch.
After struggling from the field at 29% in the first half, Geneva lit the nets of Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse up to the tune of 63% in the second half. Geneva iced the game away from the foul line where it finished the game 28-37 (76%), while Waynesburg connected on only six free throws all afternoon. Four Geneva players finished in double figures led by Matt Lorello′s 19 points on 6-8 shooting from the field. David Phillips posted 14 points while Drew Santarsiero added 13 in the victory. Newcomer Keynon Jackson scored 11 points to go along with his seven rebounds and three assists.
"This is never an easy place to play let alone win," said head coach Jeff Santarsiero. "We finally got some balanced scoring and were able to finish down the stretch. I was very proud of the effort from the guys and it was certainly an important victory for us moving forward."
Geneva will try to build upon Saturday′s victory when it hosts rival Grove City at Metheny Fieldhouse on Wednesday night at 7:30 pm. Wednesday night′s game will be the only one in the week for Geneva as it will enjoy seven days off after hosting the Wolverines before getting ready for first place Thiel to invade Metheny Fieldhouse on February 8th.
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).
© Geneva College | All rights reserved
