WASHINGTON, Pa. – Sophomore forward Alex Acosta (Acworth, Ga./North Cobb) finished with a game-high 30 points to help the Washington & Jefferson College men's basketball team upend first place Geneva College in Presidents' Athletic Conference play Wednesday evening.
 
The victory was the sixth in the past seven games for the Presidents. W&J is 7-10 in the conference and 8-14 overall. The loss drops Geneva to 16-2 in the PAC and 20-3 overall. 
 
Acosta, who has enjoyed a breakout sophomore season, put together a near perfect offensive efforts. Acosta converted 12-of-13 field goal attempts in the win over the GT's. 
 
Joining Acosta in double figures was senior Nick Gearhart (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) with 17 points. Sophomore Brandon Jakiela (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) and freshman Matthew Carte (Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood) added 14 points and 12 points, respectively. 
 
Freshman forward Nathan Plotner (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South) pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds in just 16 minutes. 
 
Geneva led by as many as 13 points in the first half. After opening the game tied at 11-11, the Golden Tornadoes scored the game's next eight points and led for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes. A jumper by Gearhart trimmed the deficit to 31-29 with 5:26 to play in the first half. Geneva responded with 11-straight points to build a 42-29 lead at the 2:43 left. The Presidents worked the deficit back into single digits with a strong close to the half. A layup by Acosta made it 42-34 at the break. 
 
The Golden Tornadoes continued to hold momentum early in the second half. However, the Presidents closed within one (56-55) when Plotner slammed home a dunk and Jakiela make a layup with 12:34 to play. 
 
Things looked bleak for the Presidents a few minutes later as the GT's pushed their lead back to nine points at 64-55. However, the Presidents ripped off a 14-4 run to take a lead on back-to-back baskets by Acosta. His jumper at the 4:32 mark gave W&J a 69-68 advantage and its first lead of the second half. 
 
The two teams then exchanged scores down the stretch of regulation. The game was tied three times over the final 1:59 of regulation. Acosta put W&J up 78-76 with 47 seconds to play but Geneva countered with an offensive rebound and second chance field goal by Trevor Tipton to force OT.
 
The overtime session belonged to the Presidents. W&J made all four field goal attempts in overtime while Geneva went cold. The GT's converted just two of eight attempts in OT. 
 
Acosta and Jakiela accounted for the first two makes for the Presidents to make it 82-78 at the 3:07 mark. The dagger shot came from sophomore sharpshooter Matt Seidl (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills), who connected on a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down. Seidl's three-pointer game W&J a two-possession lead at 89-84 with 30 seconds to play. Seidl also turned in a career-high nine assists for the Presidents. 
 
The Presidents enjoyed solid shooting throughout the night. The Red and Black converted at a 53 percent clip (35-of-66) and made 10-of-22 three-point attempts (45.5 percent). 
 
Ryan Rachic posted a 25-point, 10-rebound effort to pace the GT's in the loss.
 
W&J heads to second place Saint Vincent on Saturday, Feb. 10. Tip-off at the Carey Center is scheduled for 6 p.m.