BEAVER FALLS, Pa. --  Plenty was on the line in Wednesday night's Presidents' Athletic Conference men's basketball showdown between visiting Washington & Jefferson College and the host Geneva College Golden Tornadoes and the game certainly lived up to the billing as the two programs battled it out for a full 40 minutes before a winner was decided. Ultimately, as they have done throughout the large part of the regular season, the Presidents found a way to pull out the victory despite trailing by as many as 24 points in the first half. Kyran Mitchell (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) scored a team-high 21 points to help lead W&J to an 82-80 victory over Geneva, who was paced by Lyle Tipton's 27-point effort. 

The win gives W&J a stranglehold on the top spot in the upcoming PAC Tournament due to tiebreakers. The Presidents, winners of four straight, improve to 18-6 overall and 15-4 in PAC play. The loss snaps Geneva's four-game winning streak. The GT's are now 16-8 overall and 13-6 in the league. 

Things couldn't have started much worse for the Presidents, who found themselves in a deep early hole. W&J trailed by double digits five minutes into the contest as cold shooting hindered the Red and Black. The Golden Tornadoes built their advantage to a staggering 24 points when Trey Parker hit a jumper to give the home team a 40-16 lead with 6:32 to play in the first half. However, the Presidents continued to press forward. W&J scored 14 consecutive points over the next five minutes to trim the deficit to 40-30 late in the first half. Five different Presidents made at least one field goal during the run. Geneva was able to regain some of its momentum and stretched the lead to 46-32 at halftime. 

W&J used a strong start to the second half to continue to trim away at the deficit. Consecutive layups by Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) and Isaiah Langston (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) cut the GT's lead to single digits (51-43) at the 16:48 mark. Just minutes later, W&J ripped off seven-consecutive points to draw even at 58-58. A three-point play by Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and a pair of free throws by Dirk Daniels (Phillipsburg, N.J./Blair Academy) tied the score just seven minutes into the second half. 

From that point on things were nip and tuck the rest of the way. A steal by Brandon Jakiela (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) and layup by Langston gave W&J its first lead of the night at 64-63 with 9:07 remaining. Neither team was able to gain much separation over the next four-plus minutes. Geneva led by a 70-68 margin at the 4:34 mark but W&J countered with 10-straight points to take its largest lead of the night. A jumper by Mitchell evened the score before a clutch triple by J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va./University) gave W&J a 73-70 lead with 3:35 remaining. A quick steal on the ensuing inbounds by Mazza led to an old-fashioned three-point play by Jakiela. The flurry continued turned another steal into a layup by Mitchell that gave W&J the eight-point advantage. 

However, the GT's would stratch and claw its way back into things down the stretch. Geneva cut the deficit to four points twice before a three-point field goal by Tipton made it 81-79 with 23 seconds left. Tipton had an opportunity to tie the score with 12 seconds left. However, he split a pair of free throws and missed a go-ahead layup, which allowed W&J to finish off the narrow win. 

W&J held lopsided advantages in points in the paint (58-28) and bench points (36-11). Four Presidents scored in double figures. Mitchell led with 21 and Seidl turned in another solid effort with 19 markers. Gearhart added 13 points while Jakiela tossed in 12 points. 

The Presidents host Grove City for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 18. Tip off at Salvitti Gym is scheduled for 3 p.m.