The Saint Vincent men's basketball team falls short on the road to Geneva College despite second half comeback, 87-82. The loss drops Saint Vincent to 9-7 on the year while posting a 4-3 record in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. Geneva improves to 6-10 overall and 2-5 in the PAC.
Shemar Bennett scored the first basket of the game with a layup off the right block. The Golden Tornadoes responded with seven-straight points to take a 7-2 lead at the 18:26 mark. Bennett made another layup but Geneva followed with 13 points to take a 20-4 edge with 15:21 to go in the half.
Both teams went back and forth but the Bearcats were not able to cut the deficit to single digits. With 5:27 to go, Geneva extended its lead to 18 (39-21). By the end of the period, SVC was able to cut the lead down to nine points but the Golden Tornadoes still had the advantage, 45-36, as both teams headed to the locker room.
In the second half, both teams exchanged baskets that kept the game between an eight and 12-point differential in favor of Geneva. After a
Drew Normandin jumper in the pain,
Andrew Reed hit a three-point shot at the 12:18 mark to cut the score to six (63-57). Geneva restored its lead back to nine but Saint Vincent kept chipping away at it. Trailing by 10, Normandin made a layup and began the comeback for SVC.
Bennett continued the stretch for the Bearcats by scoring the next three points with Reed making two free throws at the 6:02 mark to bring the score to 74-71. The Golden Tornadoes then increased its lead back to five before
Josh Duda cut it back down to three with a jumper. Normandin made two free throws to bring SVC within one and then gave his team a slim, 77-76, edge with 2:40 remaining in regulation.
Geneva made a three pointer and a fastbreak basket to go up 81-77.
Walter Bonds cut the lead back to one with a three of his own but the hosts went back up by three with 1:11 on the clock. Bennett brought the difference back to one with a layup with 53 seconds to go but that was as close as Saint Vincent was going to get. Geneva made four free throws to close out the game and win, 87-82.
Normandin led all scorers with 24 points while Bennett ended the evening with 23. Reed finished with 16 points while the Bearcats were outscored 20-12 in points off turnovers.
Saint Vincent hosts the Chatham Cougars on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Start time is 7:30 p.m.
