Annville, PA — An ill-timed stretch of scoreless basketball would spell doom for the Messiah men's basketball team Saturday afternoon, as the Falcons dropped a 63-72 decision at MAC Commonwealth rival Lebanon Valley College.
Messiah (3-12, 1-2) committed four of its eight second-half turnovers in a two-minute span, keeping the squad scoreless from the 5:57 mark to the 1:08 moment — helping the host Dutchmen turn a 54-53 lead into a 62-53 advantage.
A late rally consisting of back-to-back threes from junior Jamie Yoder and senior Drew Sneeringer pulled the Falcons within a 64-59 difference with 49 seconds on the clock, but LVC finished by making its final 10 free throws of the contest, icing things with little additional drama.
“We just couldn't get over the hump,” said Rick Van Pelt, Messiah head coach. “We'd get close, but we couldn't get a lead down the stretch. Every possession just seems huge to us. I think that (mentality) affects shooting percentage, I think it affects execution, and I think it affects effort, to be honest. The bottom line, however, was that their dribble penetration really hurt us. They got to the free throw line, and they made their free throws.”
Lebanon Valley (7-8, 1-3) did exactly that at a staggering rate, making 27 of an incredible 35 shots from the charity stripe for the game (77.1 percent). Those numbers were easily season highs for a Messiah opponent, bettering LVC's impressive 25.5 free-throw-per-game average as well.
Despite the disparity in unguarded shots (the Falcons finished 10 of 12 at the line, 83.3 percent), Messiah still had its fair share of opportunities. Eleven first-half points from sophomore Colton Reitz helped fuse a first half in which Van Pelt's team kept things close through the majority, putting together an 11-5 run over the final five minutes to turn a seven-point deficit into a 33-34 disparity at the break. Senior Jason Miller got things started in that spurt, scoring back-to-back layups before burying a long three ball. Reitz then followed with two free throws and a post basket, setting up a decisive second half.
Again, the Dutchmen were able to get out to a quick lead, but Messiah would respond. A hanging jumper from junior Kyle Snyder gave the Falcons their first lead of the period at the 10:44 mark (43-42). Another layup from Miller would tie the game less than two minutes later (47-47), while a pair of free throws from Yoder pulled the visitors within one (53-54) with 5:57 left to go.
It was at that point that Messiah's rash of misfortune began, however, as a missed turnaround from Reitz was followed by four consecutive Falcon turnovers. LVC was only able to pull ahead by six points (59-53) during that time, but another missed shot was answered by made free throws from the Dutchmen on their next possession, leading to the — in hindsight, insurmountable — nine-point difference.
Miller and Yoder led Messiah's scoring efforts, each charting 14 points. Snyder matched his career high with 15 boards to go with six points, while Reitz finished with his 11 first-half points on a four of eight shooting performance from the field.
Five players notched double-figure scoring for LVC, the first time this season such scoring balance has been allowed by a Messiah opponent. Not helping the Falcons' matters, the team finished just seven of 26 from three-point land (26.9 percent), the 10th time Messiah hoisted 25 or more treys in a game this season.
“Again, I think we made some bad decisions with threes,” Van Pelt said. “Deep in the shot clock, those are okay, but when we shot them early, it hurt us.
“Jamie Yoder, Kyle Snyder, Jason Miller … those three guys battled their rear ends off today,” he continued. “That type of effort is contagious. We've got Albright (College) at home Tuesday, and we'll work hard to prepare. They're good, and just like every league game, it will be tough. But we'll be prepared to play.”
Messiah will next host the Lions in Brubaker Auditorium Tuesday evening. Game time is set for 8 p.m.
