BEAVER FALLS, Pa. - The Westminster College men's basketball team held off Geneva with a 79-78 win in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play on the road Wednesday evening with the no. 1 spot in the conference standings on the line.
 
Westminster (6-1) started off strong against the Golden Tornadoes (5-2), jumping out to a 30-16 lead midway through the first half, capped off by a layup by senior Isaac Stamatiades (Elkridge, MD / Avalon). Geneva responded with a 15-10 run to close out the period and the Titans went into intermission with a 40-31 lead. Geneva opened the half with a 10-2 run to cut Westminster's lead to one (42-41) just over three minutes in. However, the Titans did not allow the Golden Tornadoes to take the lead, as they utilized a 13-5 run of their own to extend their lead to 55-46 with 12:37 remaining. Westminster continued to control the momentum for most of the second half and led 76-65 with 47 seconds remaining.
 
Geneva mounted a comeback in the final minute, as a four-point play and an old-fashioned three-point play cut Westminster's lead to just four (76-72) with 33 seconds left. Stamatiades responded with two big free throws to extend the lead to six, before Geneva sophomore Lyle Tipton was fouled beyond the arc and promptly made three free throws to make it a one possession game (78-75) with just 12 seconds remaining. Titan junior Tyler James (Youngstown, OH / Warren JFK) then split two free throws to make it a two-possession game (79-75), before the Golden Tornadoes hit a three at the buzzer as time expired.
 
The Titans were led by Stamatiades, who collected his sixth double-double of the season (25th career) with a team-high 20 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, Stamtiades currently leads the PAC in rebounding, averaging 13.3 rebounds per game. James followed with 17 points and eight boards, along with three blocked shots (tied game-high). First-year Reese Leone (Beloit, OH / West Branch) deposited 16 points and dished out a game-high six assists, while also pocketing a game- and career high four steals. Leone leads all PAC counterparts with 5.0 assists per game. Reigning PAC Player of the Week Daniel Ritter (North Lima, OH / South Range) contributed nine points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Austin O'Hara (Girard, OH / Girard) and first-year Andrew Clark (New Middletown, OH / Springfield Local) chipped in six points and grabbed four rebounds apiece. Clark also swatted a career-high three blocks (tying a game-high. Senior Josh Hutcherson (Uniontown, OH / Uniontown Lake) recorded five points and collected three boards.
 
For the game, Westminster narrowly out shot the Golden Tornadoes 42.5% (31-73) to 41.5% (27-65). Westminster firmly held edge on the glass (49-36) and bested Geneva in assists (14-13). The Titans also dominated Geneva in points in the paint (42-28) and fast break points (23-3).  
 
Westminster is next scheduled to play at home against the Chatham University Cougars on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 1:30 p.m.