Grantham, PA — Just moments after Messiah had scored 11 of the final 12 points to earn a come-from-behind, 73-65 win over Eastern University in its season opener Wednesday night at Brubaker Auditorium, head coach
Rick Van Pelt was unabashedly plugging
GoMessiah.com.
“I was happy when I read the recap of last night's women's basketball game this morning on GoMessiah,” Van Pelt said to open the post-game press conference. “They only lead for 10 seconds and got a road win to start their season? A lot of good stuff can come from a win like that. I was happy for (Messiah women's basketball head coach) Mike (Miller). I was happy for their team.”
He paused.
“And now I'm happy that we were able to do it.”
Van Pelt's squad wrote virtually the same storyline as the Falcons' women in their season-opener Wednesday against the Eagles, trailing for the meat of the second half before finishing with a fury, turning a 64-62 Eastern lead into an eight-point win in the final two minutes.
A 13 of 18 second-half shooting clip (72.2 percent) and a sizzling 19 of 21 free throw effort (90.5 percent) buoyed 20 Falcons' turnovers, as Messiah (1-0) limited Eastern (1-1) to just one made field goal in the final 2:51.
The win helped avenge a season-opening 60-70 loss at Eastern to start the season last year, as Van Pelt's squad made all the plays late — just like the Falcons' women had done 24 hours earlier.
“You've obviously got to be happy with the result,” Van Pelt said, again drawing comparisons to the women's victory. “To keep fighting and battling through some of the low points, that's good stuff. We were fortunate tonight. Like Mike said about his game, I also didn't think we played great basketball at times. But we got some breaks and made some plays.”
Messiah made just enough plays to keep Wednesday's affair reasonably close throughout, as an eight-point Eastern lead late in the first half would be the visitors' largest.
Van Pelt's squad closed the period with a 13-6 run however, as a buzzer-beating offensive rebound and putback layup from senior Andy Hawk trimmed the Eagles' advantage to just 32-31 at the break.
Six made free throws helped the Falcons shoot out of the gate on a 10-0 run to start the second period, but a methodical push from Eastern helped slowly turn the tide back in favor of the guests. Three buckets from Eastern sophomore Martin Soaries helped the Eagles regain a lead, and when senior Jason Reels buried a three with just over six minutes remaining, Eastern led by a 57-51 score.
The visitors would have no answer for what was about to hit them, however.
Messiah connected on its final seven shots from the field and on six of its last seven tries from the free throw line, swinging what looked to be a comfortable Eagles' lead into a no-fuss Falcons' win down the stretch.
The late offensive surge began with a steal and fastbreak layup from senior Jamie Yoder at the five-minute mark, while freshman Chris Yoder responded with a leaning baseline jumper on Messiah's next possession. Jamie Yoder knocked down a 15-footer on the Falcons' next trip, cutting the Eastern lead to just 59-57 with 3:54 to go.
Following a pair of missed free throws from the visitors, junior Josh Hartman rang in his third long ball of the evening, pulling Messiah ahead by a 60-59 count. Eastern's Soaries responded with a pull-up three on Eastern's ensuing possession, but a layup from Hawk and a three pointer from junior Tyler Ritzman put Messiah ahead, 65-64, with 1:44 to play.
Eastern drew a foul and connected on one of two charity tosses on its next trip, but the smallest player on the court came up huge on Messiah's next possession, as the 5-8 Hartman found the ball in his hands at the top of the key — with the shot clock making its way toward zeroes.
Hartman lowered his head and drove hard to his right, letting a running, one-handed floater go over the top of a pair of Eastern defenders.
His shot kissed high off the glass and gently through the hoop, putting Messiah up by a 67-65 count with 47 seconds to play.
The Falcons' defense would stiffen from there, forcing a pair of missed shots from Eastern and creating a late turnover — all while converting on the team's final six free throws after the Eagles were forced to foul.
“We were fortunate,” Van Pelt said. “We had a couple breaks where we didn't execute great basketball plays, but we still came up with a basket. We made some timely shots that bailed us out of some tough possessions, but that's what you need against good teams.”
Hawk led the way with 18 points and 11 rebounds, notching his 11th career double-double in 37 minutes of work. Hartman chipped in a career-high 15 points on a five of seven effort from the field, while Jamie Yoder scored 14 points to go with three assists and two steals.
Messiah's torrid second-half shooting helped offset a 14 of 28 (50 percent) second-half shooting clip from Eastern, slightly off the visitors' 14 of 27 effort (51.9 percent) in the opening 20 minutes.
“We didn't reach our goals in terms of field goal percentage defense or our own turnovers,” Van Pelt said, “but it's still good to get a win. Eastern is tough, and they have some players that are very strong individually. Those can be tough matchups for us, but we fought until the end tonight.”
Soaries paced Eastern with a game-high 24 points. Messiah outrebounded the Eagles by a 33-19 difference, while Eastern only made four of nine free throws (44.4 percent) compared to the aforementioned 19 of 21 clip from Messiah.
“We have a long way to go, but tonight's finish was good for us,” Van Pelt said.
Messiah will not have long to wait before its next contests, as the team will compete in the Gettysburg College Days Inn Tip Off Tournament on Friday and Saturday of this weekend. The Falcons will open against the host Bullets Friday at 6 p.m., while Catholic University and Wittenberg University will meet in the nightcap at 8 p.m. The tournament's consolation game is set for 2 p.m. Saturday; the championship game will take place at 4 p.m.
