BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team's rally fell short as they suffered a 74-70 loss to Geneva College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game at Metheny Fieldhouse in Beaver County. 
 
The loss drops W&J to 2-10 overall and 1-6 in conference play. Geneva remains in second place in the PAC as they move to 7-1 in the league and 9-2 overall. 
 
The Presidents put together a valiant effort but came up short in the loss to the Golden Tornadoes. Three players scored in double figures for W&J. 
 
Leading the way was sophomore forward Alex Acosta (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb) with a game-high 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Acosta added five rebounds, two blocks and two assists. 
 
Sophomore guard Brandon Jakiela (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) produced 14 points off the bench. Sophomore guard Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) tallied 10 points, four rebounds and a team-high four assists. Senior guard Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. 
 
All five Geneva starters scored in double figures. Leading the way was Payton Triplett with 14 points and 11 rebounds for a double double.
 
W&J opened with the game's first six points to take an early lead. The lead was short-lived as the GT's responded with 10-straight points to push in front at the 15:30 mark. W&J regained the lead on a triple by Acosta that made it 13-12 just two minutes later. 
 
The two teams traded baskets over the next five-plus minutes until Geneva sank back-to-back three-point field goals to lead 27-21 with 7:13 to play in the first half. The GT's continued to lead for the remainder of the half. The lead reached as many as nine points before W&J cut the deficit to 42-37 at halftime after a late triple by senior guard J.R. Mazza (Bridgeport, W.Va./University). 
 
The second half started poorly for the Presidents as the hosts ripped off an 11-0 run over nearly four minutes. That run stretched the GT's lead to 16 points at 53-37 with 10:59 remaining. The Geneva lead remained in double digits for the better part of five minutes. Trailing by a 72-62 margin, the Presidents scored six-straight points to cut the deficit to four points on a Mazza jumper with 3:23 to play.
 
The GT's were held without a field goal for the final 4:56 of the game. A pair of free throws were enough to allow the hosts to hold off the Presidents. W&J misfired on a pair of field goal attempts late in a one-possession game. 
 
W&J held advantages in bench points (27-9) and points in the paint (46-40). Geneva led in rebounding (43-40) and made three-pointers (8-6).
 
The Presidents are off until the New Year. W&J returns to action when Grove City visits the Salvitti Family Gymnasium on Jan. 3 at 8 p.m.