Selinsgrove, PA — By head coach Mike Miller's explanation, it was a comeback that probably shouldn't have happened.
But he'll take it.
Messiah opened its 2009-2010 season with a stunning, 73-72 win at Susquehanna University's Orlando W. Houts Gymnasium Tuesday night, leading for all of 10 seconds in the second half.
Thankfully for Miller and company, that lead occurred during the game's final 10 ticks, as a pair of free throws from senior Julie Henninger turned a 72-71 Crusaders' lead into the final score — capping a game which Susquehanna lead by as many as 15 points in the final period.
“I've coached 600-some games at Messiah, and this was one of the most exciting, gratifying wins I've been a part of here,” said Miller, whose actual count stood at 608 following the win. “We were bad for most of the night. But we kept fighting, and this speaks very well for our kids.”
Messiah (1-0) trailed by a 52-37 score with 14 minutes in regulation but, despite having only four returning players from last season's 23-5 team, somehow found a way to persevere in a hostile environment.
A methodical comeback was spurred by improved defense, as the Falcons forced 11 second-half turnovers from the hosts — helping to an 18 of 27 shooting performance (66.7 percent) on the Messiah end of the floor.
A jumper from freshman Dori Gyori sparked a 7-0 Messiah run with just over seven minutes to play, turning a 61-50 Susquehanna lead into a 61-57 disparity. The Crusaders would rebuild a six-point lead over the next four minutes, but a layup from freshman Kira Maier and a jumper from Henninger sandwiched a made free throw from the hosts, making it a 68-65 ballgame with 2:40 on the clock.
The teams then traded baskets with a minute and a half to play, while a pair of free throws from freshman Nicky Hess were answered by two charity tosses from the hosts with 1:04 on the clock.
Down 72-69 with under a minute remaining, Messiah needed an answer.
Miller turned to his lone senior.
Henninger got the ball at the top of the key and drove hard down the lane on the Falcons' next possession, kicking the ball to freshman Jordan Seiz, standing wide open in the corner.
Seiz's shot hit nothing but the bottom of the net with 39 seconds to play, and Miller called timeout, trailing 72-71.
After another timeout from Susquehanna (0-1), Miller's group forced a turnover, but turned the ball right back to the Crusaders on a traveling violation.
Again, with only 12 seconds on the game clock, Messiah needed an answer.
Again, Henninger provided one.
With Messiah attempting to deny Susquehanna the inbounds pass, Henninger got a hand on it, forcing a loose ball. In a fight to gain possession, Susquehanna senior Ashley Watkins knocked Henninger to the ground, sending the Messiah senior to the line for a two-shot foul with 10 seconds to play.
She drilled them both.
Susquehanna's Rachael Hughes was able to get off a floating jumper following another Crusader timeout after the restart, but her shot was off the mark. Henninger appeared to pull down the rebound, but SU's Samantha Cartwright swiped it away and put up a shot from the middle of the lane, five feet out, just as the horn sounded.
Cartwright's shot bounced on the rim three times before falling out.
Miller could breathe again.
“Susquehanna is a team with most everyone back from a team that went 16-10 last year, and they expect big things,” Miller said. “For us to not play very well and still have this kind of and ending … it makes you think the possibilities are endless with this group.”
Such a sentiment wasn't exactly warranted until the final moments, as Messiah trailed by a 36-28 difference at the half, leading on just two occasions in the game's opening period. A layup from junior Michele Schleich accounted for the first two points of the contest, while a three from sophomore Anna Walker gave the Falcons a 19-17 lead with 10:19 to go.
That bucket was Messiah's only long ball of the entire evening, as 15 first-half turnovers from the Falcons and a perfect seven-of-seven three-point shooting clip from the hosts helped to the eight-point halftime spread.
Susquehanna then started the second half by making seven of its first nine shots, opening the aforementioned 52-39 lead and threatening to turn both teams' season-opener into a snoozer.
“Our freshmen quickly learned tonight that the college game is a bit different,” Miller said. “At this level, everyone can shoot. What changed for us? We finally got stops. That was the bottom line. Everyone improved late in the game defensively. We didn't have the individual breakdowns, or as many, as we did early. They didn't get open shots. That kind of translated into secondary break offense, and we were able to just play.”
Miller's group completed its comeback despite losing both Schleich and Gyori to fouls with just over four minutes to play — each scoring 12 points while grabbing six and eight rebounds, respectively.
In the end, however, it was the leadership of Henninger that spelled the win, as the Carlisle, Pa. native finished with a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds — posting 12 and five in the game's final 20 minutes.
“Julie had an absolutely great last six minutes,” Miller said. “She was a leader out there, in every way.”
Seiz joined Henninger, Schleich and Gyori in double-figures, adding 10 points on four of seven shooting from the floor. Maier scored eight points and grabbed four boards in 14 minutes of work.
With just 25.3 percent of Messiah's scoring and 28.8 percent of the rebounding returning from last year's team, Miller's new-look squad had produced an old-school result, even if it was slightly exasperating in nature.
“Make no mistake, we got outplayed tonight,” he said afterward. “We were out-executed, and there were stretches where we didn't do Messiah stuff. But we never gave up. And for this team to fight the way it did, well, I'm extremely proud.”
Messiah will take just a few days before opening its home slate next, hosting the annual Messiah College/Wingate Hotel Invitational Friday and Saturday. McDaniel College will hook up with York College to start things off Friday afternoon at 5:30 p.m., while Messiah will face Washington College in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, York and Washington will face off at 1 p.m., followed by Messiah-McDaniel at 3 p.m. All games will take place in Brubaker Auditorium.
