The Geneva Golden Tornadoes got a driving layup from Eric McGee with 1.4 seconds left in overtime to defeat Saint Vincent by a score of 80-78 in the first round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference playoffs.

Kyle Evans got the Bearcats on the board with a driving layup at the 18:25 mark, while Geneva struggled from the floor, mossing its first 9 shots.  The Bearcats led 6-0 after a score by Tom Kromka, but Jimmy Leichliter hit a three to get the visitors on the board.  He then scored on a conventional three-point play to tie the game, 6-6 with 14:54 to go.
 
David Stephen then came off the bench for SVC and tallied 8 quick points on a pair of threes and a layup that followed a steal by Mike Simmons.  Up 19-12, SVC then went on an 8-point run, punctuated by a dunk from Kromka and capped by a three from Jason Capco that made the score 27-12 at the 7:20 mark.
 
A steal and coast-to-coast drive by Evans gave SVC their biggest lead of the half, 35-17, with just under five minutes remaining.

However, Leichliter then got the hot hand, starting with a three that made the score 35-20.  After an SVC score, Leichliter hit another three, followed by a jumper, then another three to cut the gap to nine, 37-28.  That would remain the difference into the halftime break, with the Bearcats in front 41-32.

Leichliter had 19 points in the first half to lead all scorers, while Kromka had 13 for the Bearcats.  SVC held a 22-14 rebounding edge over the first 20 minutes, with Kromka grabbing five.

The Bearcats led by seven, 47-40 after five minutes of play in the second half before Leichliter scored on a third-try after a rebound.  He hit another jumper to make it a 3-point game, then scored on a putback layup to cut the gap to just one, 51-50.

The visitors took their first lead of the game at the 8:04 mark on a pair of free throws by Ethan Moose, but the lead quickly went back to the Bearcats.  A layup by Kromka with 5:55 to go gave SVC a 6-point lead, 62-56, but the next several minutes were contested at the foul line, as both teams added points via free throws.  The Bearcats still led throughout that span, with a Kromka free throw making it 68-66 at the 2:03 mark.  

A block by Kromka on a shot by Moose followed at the 1:49 mark, but a later foul and free throw made it 68-67 with 1:20 left. Another Bearcat foul put Noah Damazo on the line with 1:04 left and he hit one shot to tie the game, 68-68.

After Matt D'Amico hit two free throws to give SVC the lead, a foul was called on SVC after the second shot, putting Leichliter on the line.  He hit both shots with 47.7 seconds left to once again tie the game.  The Bearcats were unable to score on the next possession, turning the ball over to Geneva with 12.2 ticks remaining, and Kromka again came up with a block at the 0.1 mark to send the game to overtime.

Geneva opened scoring in the extra period with a pair of McGee free throws, but Stephen drew a foul from Leichliter - his fifth of the game - at the 3:47 mark to tie the game. SVC took the lead on two free throws from Kromka, but four straight points from Damazo, followed by a Moose layup with less than a minute remaining, put Geneva in front 78-74.  Kromka answered with an uncontested layup to cut the gap to just two.  After Geneva failed to score on their next possession, Coy Patterson Jr scored on a jumper with 9.4 left to tie the game at 78-78.

McGee then went the length of the court and scored on an underhand layup with 1.4 to put Geneva in front.  Stephen had one last chance to win it for SVC, but his half-court shot hit the front of the rim.

Leichliter led all scorers with 33 points and also had a game-high 10 rebounds.  For the Bearcats, Kromka tallied 22 points and 7 rebounds, while Stephen added 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Capco and D'Amico scored 10 points each, and D'Amico had a team-high 9 rebounds.

With the win, #6 seed Geneva moves on to face #1 Thomas More in the semifinal round.  Saint Vincent finishes its season with a record of 16-10.