Crestview Hills, KY - Simply getting on the bus has been a bad omen for the Geneva College men′s basketball team this season. The Golden Tornadoes went through the entire regular season without a win on the road and that trend continued on Tuesday night in the first round of the Presidents′ Athletic Conference tournament. Geneva was forced to travel to Kentucky to face second seeded Thomas More in the opening round of the PAC tournament. Geneva dropped an 82-60 decision to the Saints at a place where Geneva has only managed to win one time in the six year history of the series. The Golden Tornadoes saw their season come to an end with an overall record of 5-21.
Geneva came into Tuesday′s action riding a three-game winning streak and clearly playing its best basketball of the season. The Golden Tornadoes came out of the blocks with the game′s first five points and led 10-9 at the 13:47 mark following a Jordan Harbison three-point field goal. Thomas More then scored the next eight points to open a 17-10 lead and never look back. Geneva would get back to within three points but ended the first half down 39-31. "We came out with some great intensity on both ends of the floor," said Geneva head coach Jeff Santarsiero. "We were just unable to maintain that level and a very good team took advantage."
Thomas More took control of the game late and outscored Geneva 43-29 in the second half. The Saints shot 58% from the field for the game including 8-17 from three-point range. The Golden Tornadoes shot 46% but suffered through 24 turnovers on the night.
Geneva got a team best 17 points from DJ Damazo in his final game for the Golden Tornadoes. Fellow seniors Keynon Jackson (10) and Matt Lorello (10) also reached double figures. Lorello ended his career just 20 points shy of the 1000 point plateau with 980 career points. Jordan Harbison knocked down three treys and finished the night with 11 points.
Thomas More, which got a game high 23 points off the bench from Jalen Clark, will advance to the PAC semi-finals on Thursday night with the championship game set for Saturday night.
"It has been a struggle for us for most of the year," said Santarsiero. "I′m proud of the guys for the way they battled last week when we needed to play our best. We have a great group of seniors that have proven to be leaders for this program. We will continue to work to get this program back to where it belongs."
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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