LATROBE, Pa. (Jan. 30) - Three players scored in double figures as the Saint Vincent men's basketball team used a dominant perfomance to beat Geneva College 81-55 at the Carey Center.
 
The first half featured an explosive Bearcat offense that shot 62 percent from the field and an impressive 47 percent from beyond the arc, knocking down 7 of 15 treys. Senior JC Howard got things rolling for Saint Vincent, scoring on a baseline floater on the opening possession. Austin Dedert followed Howard by converting an and one opportunity to make the score 5-0 SVC just a little less than a minute into the game. Jaylon Bell scored his first points of the night, connecting on a deep trey to beat the shot clock to give the Bearcats a six-point lead (8-2).
 
SVC continued to light it up from downtown as Howard, Bell, and Ben Klimchock drained four, three-point shots in a row, making the score 22-13 Saint Vincent. After a Geneva basket, the Bearcats went on a 13-0 run, sparked by a Kyle Rivera fast break lay up and highlighted by a Bobby Swartwout trey. Following the lengthy, five minute run, SVC led the Geneva Tornadoes by a score of 37-15.
 
With a little over four minutes left in the period, Howard made his presence known on the defensive end. The guard stole the ball and sprinted down the court to lay it in, giving SVC a 24-point lead. Klimchock went on to drain his second three of the half, followed by a Dedert bucket down low to close out the half and send the Bearcats into the locker room with a comfortable 46-24 advantage.
 
For Saint Vincent, Bell led all scorers with 13 points in the opening half. For the Tornadoes, Ethan Adamczyk netted a team-best six points over the first 20 minutes.
 
Both teams were in foul trouble throughout the second half, but the Bearcats continued to hold a sizeable lead.  After the Tornadoes scored the opening points of the half, Dedert connected on a put back to keep the lead at 22 for Saint Vincent. Jones drained a jumper then hit a deep three to make the score 53-32 with 15:20 left in the game.
 
After two Bell free throws, Geneva managed a 6-0 run. Dedert scored on a layup under the hoop to end the run, giving the Bearcats a 19-point advantage. On the next possession Matt D'Amico pushed a fast break, scoring on a finger roll followed by two Jones free throws to push the SVC edge to 61-38 lead with 9:52 left to play.
 
The Tornadoes answered back with five straight, but four Dedert points would be just enough to keep Geneva at a distance. D'Amico converted on two from the charity strike and freshman Will Sandherr scored on a fast break layup to put away the Tornadoes, as Saint Vincent earned the season sweep of Geneva.
 
For the Bearcats, three scored in double figures led by Bell and Dedert with 15 each. Jones netted 12 and Swartwout added nine points off the bench. Bell also dished out a game-high seven assists, while Dedert and D'Amico led with six rebounds apiece. Adamczyk paced the GT's with 14 points and five assists.

As a team, Saint Vincent shot 51.7 percent (30-58) for the game, including 10 of 23 from three (43.5 percent). SVC went 11 of 14 at the charity stripe, for a 78.6 percent clip. Geneva shot 38.9 percent from the field but made just 6 of 23 three-point attempts (26.1 percent). Geneva also managed just 50 percent at the charity stipe (7-of-14). SVC held a 40-29 advantage in rebounding.

Saint Vincent improves to 15-4 overall and 11-1 in PAC play, while Geneva dropped to 2-17 overall and 2-10 in league action.

The Bearcats return to action when they host Waynesburg University (6-13 Overall, 6-6 PAC) on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Carey Center.