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 The 1982-1983 Geneva College basketball team
had one of the best seasons in the school’s history but it wasn’t the
first to bring glory to the Gold and White. From 1950 to 1956 Geneva
cage squads coached by
Cliff Aultman had outstanding records in NAIA
competition in Pennsylvania. Remarkably, these teams were largely
home grown. Coach Aultman found Beaver County a fertile area
for recruiting, with Monaca as one of the best towns for seemingly
endless basketball talent. One of the best Monaca players was Pete Kinkead, who played for the Covies from 1950
to 1953. He ranked tenth among Geneva scoring leaders with 1212
points, including 705 points his senior year for the third best
total for a Covie. His senior season average of 26.1 points per game
was the second best compiled by a Geneva cager. In the 1953 NAIA
tournament in Kansas City, Geneva was eliminated by the towering
Tennessee A&I team in an 89-88 thriller, but Pete sank 15 of 15 free
throws in the game for an NAIA playoff record. Earlier in the season
he had scored 42 points in a game against Indiana State to break
Al
Vlasic’s one game record of 39. Pete earned first team honors on
the 1953 Tri State All Star team and the NAIA All American team.
Geneva’s opponents that season included Pitt, Duquesne, LaSalle, and
St Francis. After college, Pete was assistant to Coach
Nate Lippe
at Beaver Falls High from 1961 to 1963 and head coach from 1964 to
1966. His Tigers broke Farrell’s famous 97 game home winning streak.
Pete also served as golf coach at Beaver Falls for 19 seasons from
1964 until the sport was dropped in 1982. One of his stars was
John Mazza. |
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