Grantham, PA — In a game that was contested as tightly as the conference race surrounding it, it was visiting Widener University that came up with the majority of plays late in a 75-62 decision over Messiah College in men's basketball action Saturday afternoon.
Messiah (15-8, 4-4) trailed the Pride by just a 59-61 score with 3:17 remaining, but four turnovers in the squad's final eight possessions helped Widener finish with a 14 to three run in producing a final score that belied the game's competitiveness.
“Thirty-four good minutes,” said Rick Van Pelt, Messiah head coach. “We played competitive basketball for about 34 minutes, but struggled with their pressure late in the second half. They became aggressive with their trapping and we didn't handle it well. It's a disappointing loss to say the least, but hopefully we can gain some knowledge from it collectively.”
Van Pelt's squad appeared to be dictating the action for much of the game, as the teams traded baskets — and leads — throughout much of the first half. Sophomore Andy Hawk spurned the Falcons' efforts, scoring 12 points and grabbing five rebounds in the first 20 minutes of play.
With the game tied 29-29 with 3:14 to play in the first half, Hawk buried a jumper to give Messiah a 31-29 lead with 3:05 remaining. Following a steal and missed layup from senior Darryl Brown, senior Jonathan Boyd was there for the tip in, giving Messiah a 33-29 advantage with 2:48 to play.
Widener (19-4, 5-3) closed with a layup and a pair of free throws to end the period, however, and the teams went into the locker rooms tied 33-33 at halftime.
“I thought, if you were keeping track of hustle plays, we won the majority of those in the first half,” Van Pelt said. “In the second half, I thought they beat us on hustle plays.”
Statistics would support Van Pelt's theory, as Messiah captured a nine to four advantage in offensive rebounds during the first half, while only committing seven first-half turnovers.
The latter category would eventually become the Falcons' downfall, however, as Messiah turned the ball over 11 times in the second half and four times in the final 3:08.
Still, Van Pelt's squad remained within striking distance. A monster offensive rebound and put-back basket from Brown turned a 56-55 Widener lead into a 57-56 Messiah advantage with 7:03 to play, while a pair of made free throws from junior Drew Sneeringer increased the Falcons' lead to 59-56 at the 6:33 mark.
A severely long three-ball and subsequent layup from Widener's Bobby Edmunds quickly erased that advantage just a minute later, and the Pride had recaptured a 61-59 lead with 5:22 remaining.
After the teams traded turnovers, it was Sneeringer that got a great look at a three pointer from the top of the key, only to have his shot rim out at the 4:31 mark. Widener then scored the game's next six points — Messiah came up with a pair of turnovers on its next two offensive trips — taking a 67-59 lead with 2:30 to play.
A made three pointer from sophomore Jamie Yoder kept things interesting on the Falcons' next offensive possession, as the Pride's lead was cut to 67-62 with 2:12 to go. A layup from Widener's Nyere Miller regained a seven-point lead on the visitors' next trip, while Brown came up just short on a jumper on Messiah's next possession.
A missed jump shot from Yoder was sandwiched between two more turnovers from Messiah, as Widener made five of six free throws in the game's final minute to ice the outcome.
Hawk led Messiah with 16 points and nine rebounds. Brown finished with 11 and seven, while sophomore Kyle Snyder scored 10 and grabbed five boards.
Messiah's 62 points was the team's third-lowest point total of the season, while Widener's 75 points accounted for the fifth-most points allowed by the Falcons to date. It was just the third time of the conference season that Messiah allowed an opponent to shoot above 50 percent — Widener made 26 of 51 total shots, 51 percent — while the Falcons' current two-game losing skid is just the second such streak of the season. Messiah's only other back-to-back losses came to Gettysburg College and Mansfield University in late November.
“Widener has very good athletes that swarm the basketball and make you handle it,” Van Pelt said. “We just didn't play a solid last five minutes of the game. They made some athletic plays late, and we didn't do what we needed to do.”
While disheartening, the loss does not put a complete damper on Messiah's league quest, as the team is currently tied with Albright College for third place with a 4-4 record. Widener sits alone in second with a 5-3 mark by virtue of Saturday's win, while Lycoming College sits atop the MAC Commonwealth with a 6-2 mark.
Messiah will next travel to Lebanon Valley College on Tuesday night, as all games from here on out will have significant impact on the final conference standings. Game time is set for 8 p.m.
