February 8, 2010 - Geneva College
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February 8, 2010

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Latrobe, PA - It took 48 extra hours but it was worth the wait for the Geneva men′s basketball team. The Golden Tornadoes were forced to wait two days before attempting to do something for the first time in 11 years. Geneva and Saint Vincent finally got together on Monday night after their game was postponed on Saturday. The Golden Tornadoes used a 16-2 run late in the second half to pull away en route to a 75-52 victory over Saint Vincent. Geneva put an end to its three game losing streak and moved to 12-10 on the season while the Bearcats fell to 5-16. More importantly, Geneva is one victory away from clinching a .500 season and a chance to compete in the NCCAA eastern regional tournament in March.

The victory also completed a season sweep of Saint Vincent, which is a first for Geneva since the 1998-99 campaign. "It has been a while since we have taken two from this team," said Santarsiero. "This is never an easy place to play and we haven′t enjoyed much success here in the past." Santarsiero′s team trailed 16-14 nine minutes into the game but held the Bearcats scoreless for the next ten minutes while building a 30-18 lead into the final minute of the half. The Golden Tornadoes took an 11-point lead into the locker room at 32-21 and cruised in the second half.

"All season it has been our defense that has keyed our success," said Santarsiero. "We picked up the intensity late in the first half and that really gave us confidence heading into the second half."

Rich Colick led the Golden Tornadoes with 18 points in the victory. As a team Geneva shot 54% from the field including a mark of nearly 61% in the final 20 minutes. Geneva′s defense was a major factor in holding Saint Vincent to only 27% from the field for the game. "Defense wins games and that proved to be the fact tonight," said Santarsiero. Joining Colick in double figures for Geneva were Elliott Law with a career high 11 points and Nate Reep with ten in the victory. Reep was a perfect 3-3 from the field and has now converted on 15 of his last 16 field goal attempts.

Geneva returns home on Saturday night looking for a season sweep against Grove City 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).

Feb 8, 2010