HENDERSHOTT HAS CAREER HIGH; WC FALLS TO GENEVA
BEAVER FALLS, Pa.–Despite erasing a 12-point second half deficit, the Westminster College men’s basketball program was upended 75-72 in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) overtime loss at Geneva College Saturday afternoon inside Metheny Fieldhouse.
Geneva, the defending PAC champion, evened its overall record at 6-6 and improved to 4-3 in league play. Westminster fell to 3-8 overall and 0-6 in the PAC. It was the first overtime tilt for the Titans since a 71-69 win over Washington & Jefferson College on Jan. 10, 2024.
Junior guard Jaxon Hendershott (Salem, Ohio, West Branch) paced Westminster with a career-high 30 points, finishing 11-of-19 from the field and 7-of-9 from three-point field goal range. He added four rebounds and a pair of steals. Hendershott’s seven made three-pointers are the most by a Westminster player since Austin Armwood hit seven in an 80-68 win over Geneva on Feb. 14, 2018.
Junior guard Drew Weir (Salem, Ohio, Salem) finished with a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double, his third in the last four games. He finished 8-of-15 from the floor. Freshman forward Michael Burbach (West Farmington, Ohio, Bristol) added nine points and four boards while junior guard Mick Hergenrother (Canfield, Ohio, Cardinal Mooney) totaled eight points, three rebounds and a career-high eight assists.
Mark Rachic led three players in double figures for Geneva, going for 27 points. He was 10-of-21 from the floor and 5-of-9 from beyond the three-point line. Ryan Rachic finished with a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double while Trevor Tipton added 11 points.
Geneva connected on eight of its first 15 three-point field goal attempts, going up 12, 30-18, with just under seven minutes left in the first. Weir’s three-pointer with 1:40 remaining in the half cut the halftime deficit to seven, 35-28. Weir finished the first with nine points, going 4-of-7 from the floor. Hendershott knocked down a pair of first half three-pointers. Mark Rachic had 13 first-half points for Geneva.
Hendershott fired in 11 early second half points to help cut the lead to five, 50-45, seven minutes in after drilling a three. Geneva surged to a seven-point lead, 60-53, following a quick 6-0 scoring run before a Hendershott three-pointer, followed by a Weir layup, slashed the deficit to one, 60-59, with under five to go. Hendershott’s seventh made three-pointer gave Westminster a 62-60 lead with 1:41 left. Ryan Rachic hit a pair of free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. The Titans connected on five of their nine attempted three-pointers in the second half.
The overtime featured six ties and four lead changes. Weir’s three-pointer, his second of the day, with 2:42 left gave Westminster a 69-67 advantage. A Hendershott step-back jumper with 17 seconds remaining cut Geneva’s lead to two, 74-72, before Tipton split a pair of free throws with six seconds to go that sealed the Golden Tornadoes’ win. Mark Rachic scored seven of Geneva’s final eight points.
Westminster shot 46 percent (29-63) from the field and hit nine of its 21 (.429) three-point attempts.
Up Next
Westminster will host Allegheny College Wednesday. Tipoff from Ron Galbreath Court inside Buzz Ridl Gymnasium is scheduled for 8 p.m.