Grantham, PA — An improved second-half defensive performance and a stellar night at the free throw line helped the Messiah College men's basketball team to its second MAC Commonwealth Conference win of the season Wednesday night, as the Falcons handed Lycoming College a 79-68 defeat in Brubaker Auditorium.
Messiah (13-5, 2-1) made 32 of 36 free throws on the night (88.9 percent) — including a 14 of 15 performance in the game's final 1:41 — to keep a rugged Warriors team at bay.
“To be honest, it's a little bit scary for me,” said Rick Van Pelt, Messiah head coach. “We go 32 of 36 from the foul line, outscore Lycoming by 22 points at the line (the Warriors made 10 of 16 charity tosses on the night), and we only win by 11? We'll take the win, but you can't always count on that (free throw disparity).”
Van Pelt's squad got a needed spark at the charity stripe in the first half of Wednesday's contest, as Messiah connected on six of its eight first-half free throws during a 23 to 11 run that would change the complexion of the game permanently. After Lycoming (9-8, 1-2) captured a 25-15 lead with 9:38 to play in the first period, Messiah slowly made its move. A jumper from sophomore Kyle Snyder was followed by a Snyder offensive rebound and layup from freshman Colton Reitz, and the Warriors' lead was cut to 25-19.
Senior Darryl Brown buried a pair of free throws at the 6:08 mark of the first half, and the Lycoming lead was trimmed to 27-23.
Messiah would eventually put in all eight of its first-half free throw attempts — Lycoming was just one of one in the game's first 20 minutes — helping to offset a 14 of 28 shooting performance from the visitors en route to a 38-36 Falcons' lead at the intermission.
“Lycoming shot the ball extremely well in the first half and made some baskets that we didn't expect them to make,” Van Pelt said. “We made some adjustments in the second half, and their overall shooting percentage went down. We defended some of their actions much better in the second half.”
The result was a final 20 minutes in which Messiah never trailed, seemingly answering every Warriors' push when it mattered most. Messiah led by a 63-53 difference with 4:28 to play, but Lycoming refused to give in: The visitors cut the Falcons' lead to six points or less on six occasions in the game's final 2:51, looking for a Messiah miscue at the line.
On this night, however, the clock-stopping strategy was as good as points on the board for the hosts.
Messiah buried 14 of 15 free throws in the game's final 1:41, averting what otherwise could have been disaster: Lycoming scored five consecutive layups during that stretch, closing the gap to just four points on two occasions.
Snyder and Brown stepped calmly to the foul line immediately after those baskets, however, pushing Messiah's lead back to six points. When Lycoming turned the ball over with 40 seconds to play, an ensuing foul and pair of freebies from Snyder made the score 76-68, Messiah, effectively putting the game out of reach.
“We didn't defend very well in the last three minutes of the game, and Lycoming drove it hard at us and scored layups,” Van Pelt said. “Fortunately, we were able to make free throws to keep the spread.”
Messiah placed five players in double-digit scoring for the second time this season, as junior Jason Miller led the way with 15 points on a team-best nine of 10 effort from the foul line. Brown added 14 — he was eight of eight at the line — while Snyder and sophomore Jamie Yoder each scored 11. Sophomore Andy Hawk added 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, dishing out a career-high five assists as well.
The Falcons' free throw affluence was its best since the team made 35 of 40 charity tosses in a 78-59 win over Albright College at home on Feb. 22, 2006.
“Lycoming is going to win games,” Van Pelt said. “They are not an easy team to beat. It's a good win for us at home. I noticed that, in the nine total (MAC Commonwealth) conference games so far, the home team has won seven of them. We now have to try to find a way to win on the road against a very athletic Widener team on Saturday.”
Messiah will visit the Schwartz Athletic Center on the campus of Widener University Saturday in the team's next league contest. Game time is slated for 3 p.m.
