BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Dec. 9) – Coy Patterson Jr. matched a career high with 18 points to lead the Saint Vincent men's basketball team to a 62-56 road victory over Geneva College in Presidents' Athletic Conference play.
 
Saint Vincent started with baskets by Shemar Bennett and Kyle Evans to take an early 4-0 lead. After Geneva answered with a three-pointer, Patterson converted on a layup to make it 6-3 Bearcats at the 15:05 mark.
 
Holding an 8-5 SVC advantage, the host Golden Tornadoes used a 9-2 run to surge into the lead at 14-10. A little later, Matt D'Amico drained a three-pointer to bring SVC within one point at 16-15 with 9:19 left in the first half.
 
Geneva would use an 8-2 run over the next four plus minutes to build a 24-17 lead over SVC. However, in a slow-paced, low scoring first half, Saint Vincent closed the half on a 10-4 run to bring the deficit to just one point at 28-27. Patterson contributed six of the 10 Bearcat points during the late half run.
 
The Bearcats opened the second half with a 10-5 run to take a 37-33 advantage over the Golden Tornadoes with 16:59 to play. SVC started the half with a layup from Austin Dedert and two free throws by D'Amico to take the lead.
 
After SVC extended the lead to 39-34 with 13:49 to play, Geneva used an 8-0 run over the next two plus minutes to take a 42-39 advantage at the 11:33 mark.
 
A pair of free throws by Jason Capco and a layup by D'Amico helped SVC regain the lead at 47-43. A quick spurt, capped by an offensive rebound and putback helped Geneva tie the game at 49-49 with 4:56 remaining.
 
Josh Duda connected on a three-pointer, his first basket of the game, to give SVC a 52-49 advantage with 4:41 to play. Geneva once again used a second chance offensive opportunity to tie the game, gaining an offensive rebound and draining a three-pointer.
 
Capco would give SVC a 55-52 lead with 3:29 to play after hitting on three-of-four free throws at the charity stripe. After a layup helped Geneva cut the deficit to 55-54 with 3:14 to play, Saint Vincent took control with a 7-2 run to close the game.
 
Saint Vincent didn't shoot the ball well from the field, converting just 31.6 percent. However, the Bearcats connected on 24-of-30 free throw attempts. SVC out-rebounded Geneva by a 43-39 margin, which included 20 offensive rebounds.
 
D'Amico joined Patterson in double figures with 11 points. Evans tallied seven points and a team-best nine rebounds. Tom Kromka filled the stat sheet with five points, six rebounds and five blocks.
 
SVC improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in PAC play. Geneva drops to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in league action.
 
Saint Vincent returns to action when they head to Orlando, Fla. to take part in the RDV Classic on Dec. 19-20. The Bearats will open the event by taking on Hope College at the RDV Sportsplex Ice Den on Dec. 19 with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.