Box Score GREENVILLE, Pa. – Nine Tomcats scored at least one basket in an easy 66-39 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory Saturday against the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes.
It was Thiel's most lopsided wins of the season and the fewest points they've surrendered to an opponent all year. The lead was 22 with 13:33 to play, allowing Coach
Tim Loomis to play 12 different Tomcats over the course of the contest.
It was a much-needed PAC victory for a Thiel men's basketball team that is fighting for conference playoff positioning as they enter the second half of their conference schedule. The Golden Tornadoes are the league's worst team and have now dropped 10 in a row. Thiel has now won back-to-back PAC games.
The Tomcats began the game on an 11-0 run, capped off by a layup by freshman
Reggie Goosby (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons). The Golden Tornadoes answered with six straight points to bring the lead to within five (11-6) with 12:05 to play in the first half, but Thiel kept the pressure on defensively to head to the locker room ahead 32-22 at half.
After the break, the Tomcats picked up where they left off, as six straight made free-throws by sophomore
Luke Kochka (Monroeville, Pa. /Gateway) pushed the lead to 22 (46-24) with 15 minutes remaining in the contest. Geneva could get no closer than 17, as Thiel kept their foot on the pedal to secure the conference win.
Kochka led all scorers with 19 points. The Gateway high school product added five rebounds and four steals. Goosby chipped in 11 points on five-of-six shooting from the field, while also grabbing seven rebounds. Freshman
Josh Lumbus (Cleveland, Ohio/John Hay) pitched in a career-high nine points.
Defensively, the biggest performance of the night came from junior
Eric Mallinger (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice), who broke Thiel's single-game school record with eight blocks. The previous record of seven was set by Chuck Gomez on February 19, 1994. Mallinger also snatched a team-high 11 rebounds, dished four assists and scored five points in the win.
The Tomcats return to action on Wednesday, when they travel to New Wilmington, Pa. to take on the Westminster Titans. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.