BEAVER FALLS, Pa. - A balanced scoring attack helped the Thiel men's basketball team hold on to defeat the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes, 81-76, in the Presidents' Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

The Tomcats improve to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the PAC while the Golden Tornadoes fall to 3-4 overall and 0-1 in PAC play.

The game began in an unusual manner, as Geneva was accessed a technical foul before tipoff. Luke Kochka (Monroeville, Pa. /Gateway) made one of the resulting free throws, staking Thiel to a rare lead 1-0 before the opening tip.

The two teams traded buckets for most of the first six minutes of play, with the Golden Tornadoes claiming their final lead of the contest (12-11) on a pair of free throws by Trevor York with 14:20 to play in the first half.

The Tomcats turned up the pace offensively and defensively, using their quickness and speed to their advantage as they never trailed after that point, and went on an 8-0 run that spanned just over a minute to give themselves a 19-12 lead with 12:59 in the half.

A pair of Geneva free throws cut the Thiel lead down to five (43-38) with 1:32 to play in the first half, but back-to-back layups by Khari Bess (Waldorf, Md./Maurice J. Mcdonough)and Justin Dade (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bishop McNamara), on a feed from Bess as the clock expired, pushed Thiel's advantage back to nine, 47-38 at the half.

Thiel led by as many as 17 early in the second half, as a layup by Demetris Lafontant (Orlando, Fla./Osceola) with 14:45 left to play gave the Tomcats a 59-42 lead. Geneva did not go quietly into the good night, outscoring Thiel 30-16 during the final 14 minutes of play to trim Thiel's commanding lead down to just three (75-72) with 48 seconds to play.

The Tomcats were again forced to earn their win at the free throw line, as they did just that, with both Charlie Thomas (North Warren Pa./Warren Area) and Khari Bess(Waldorf, Md./Maurice J. Mcdonough) sinking key free-throws to seal the victory for the Tomcats.

Five starters scored in double figures led by Bess, who poured in a team-high 21 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out nine assists, and added five steals. Eric Mallinger(Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) added his first double-double of the season, registering 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Thomas chipped in 11 points, while Josh Johnson and Simeon Revales (Miami, Fla./Monsignor Pace) both scored 12 points off the bench for Thiel.
 
The Tomcats are back in action on Saturday when they host Washington and Jefferson College. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.