Crestview Hills, KY – The Geneva men’s basketball Golden Tornadoes fell short at Thomas More on Saturday, January 7. The Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) first seed Thomas More Saints outlasted the Golden Tornadoes last minutes efforts in the 98-90 decision. The loss lowers Geneva’s overall record to 6-7, 3-3 in the PAC.
Noah Damazo’s (Beaver Falls, PA/Blackhawk) good three-pointer gave Geneva a 20-17 lead at 12:59 after beginning the competition trailing the Thomas More Saints.
The game remained within three points of each other until David Oliver (Sewickley, PA/Quaker Valley) posted a layup and defensive rebound setting up Chaese Vaudrin (Uniontown, OH/Lake) for a good layup lifting Geneva 29-25 at 8:03.
With 4:15 remaining in the first half, Jimmy Leichliter (Connellsville, PA/Connellsville) sunk a three for the 34-31 advantage but Thomas More matched Leichliter’s three and raised Geneva by four with a pair of good jumpers moving the score to 38-34. Geneva trailed by five at the half; 42-37.
Thomas More added to its lead in the second, peaking with a 21-point cushion with 9:34 left in regulation. The Golden Tornadoes worked to slowly chip away at the Saints lead. Oliver’s good three-pointer at 5:04 closed the gap to ten; 80-70. Despite the efforts, Geneva’s fell short in the eight-point decision.
As a team, Geneva shot an impressive 47%. Jimmy Leichliter finished the 40 minutes with 26 points, scoring five three-pointers while also pulling down seven rebounds. Damazo closed his big day scoring 21 points while sinking four from beyond the arch along the way. Oliver also tallied 21 points in his outstanding performance.
On Wednesday, January 11 the Golden Tornadoes will be back at home to host Chatham at 7:30 p.m.
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