York, PA — An opportunity to put together the season's first winning streak fizzled late Saturday night for the Messiah men's basketball team, as the Falcons dropped a tough-to-swallow 53-59 defeat at York College.
Senior Drew Sneeringer tied the game 53-53 on a driving layup with 1:03 to play, but it would be Messiah's final points of the night: A turnover and missed three pointer on the Falcons' next two possessions were trumped by a layup and four made free throws on the York end, resulting in the final six-point difference.
“This was a game that we felt we had plenty of opportunities to win,” said Rick Van Pelt, Messiah head coach. “We simply couldn't get stops when we needed them and York hit some big shots down the stretch. We felt like we had a good chance to win. You have to give York credit.”
The host Spartans (2-4) seemed to have the upper hand — statistically, at least — following a first half that concluded in a 24-24 draw. York converted on 10 of 27 first-half shots (37 percent) compared to Messiah's 10 of 38 clip (26.3 percent), numbers that were buoyed by an 11 to five Falcons' advantage on the offensive boards.
The score at intermission would be one of 12 ties throughout the game, as the teams traded leads 11 times. York extended its advantage to a game-high eight points with 5:52 remaining in the opening period, but a 12-4 Messiah run over the final moments provided the draw at the break.
As with all closely contested games, things would be decided late in the final period. The squads stayed within three points of one another until the final 14 seconds, with neither team able to extend for breathing room.
Messiah captured a three-point lead on three different occasions in the second half, but was unable to make use of a defensive stop twice. A Messiah turnover and subsequent foul helped York get closer following a 40-37 Falcons' lead with 12:02 remaining, while a Spartans' offensive rebound helped negate a Falcons' defensive stand at the 10:57 mark — a point at which Messiah led 42-39.
Free throws would turn out to be the difference in the final stanza, as Messiah's three for three effort was buried by a 13 of 18 performance (72.2 percent) from York over the game's final 20 minutes. Messiah was whistled for 20 fouls to York's 12 during the course of the game — the second half providing a 15 to six disparity.
“We just couldn't get a stop when we absolutely needed one,” Van Pelt said. “We had a three-point lead a few times, and we couldn't get a bucket or a defensive rebound to widen the gap. Our inability to make a shot and the free throw disparity were really the difference.”
Despite those issues, Van Pelt's club still had its share of chances to win the game down the stretch. A layup from senior Jason Miller tied the game 51-51 with 3:20 remaining, while Sneeringer's driving hoop countered a pair of Spartan free throws with just 1:03 to play.
A layup from York's Julian Watson put the hosts back ahead 55-53 just 10 seconds later, however, and again Messiah needed a basket to keep pace. Following a Van Pelt-called timeout, the Falcons committed an untimely turnover with just 31 seconds remaining. Fouling to stop the clock, Messiah then watched York bury a pair of free throws to pull ahead 57-53. A missed three pointer from junior Andy Hawk on the Falcons' next trip forced another foul to manage the clock, and York made two more charity tosses to provide the final difference.
Hawk led Messiah's interior efforts with 16 points and 11 rebounds, his second double-double of the young season. Freshman Danny Wrigley added 11 points on a four of six shooting performance, while Miller scored 10 points and grabbed five boards.
The Falcons will continue their season-opening, eight-game road odyssey Tuesday, when the team travels to the University of Scranton. Messiah will hook up with the Royals as part of a men's-women's double-header. The men's game is slated to begin at approximately 8 p.m.
