Grantham, PA – A monstrous second-half run from Albright College put a disastrous spin on Messiah's Commonwealth Conference opener Wednesday night, as the visiting Lions turned a two-point Falcons' lead into a 69-58 defeat at Brubaker Auditorium.
Messiah led 42-40 with just 11:36 to play in the contest, but a three-pointer from Albright junior Matt Ashcroft sparked an 18-2 run for the visitors over the game's next six minutes.
The result was a 44-58 deficit with 5:28 to play – a lead Messiah (4-2, 0-1) would trim to six points on one occasion before dropping its first game in the last three outings.
“I remember being up two (in the second half), and (Ashcroft) hit that three,” Messiah head coach Rick Van Pelt recalled. “That was a dagger.”
Ashcroft's triple was one of three long balls made by the Reading, Pa. native on the evening, while an ill-timed sputtering of Falcons' offense helped Albright (4-0, 1-0) gain space. Messiah committed three turnovers and connected on just one of nine shots during the aforementioned 18-2 spurt, while the Lions buried a trio of threes – making seven of 11 shots from the floor overall.
“(The run) felt pretty bad from the sidelines,” Van Pelt said. “We kind of felt it getting away from us. We called two timeouts, but Albright just seemed like they were the team with more league experience. We're awfully young, and with some key returning guys out right now, I think a lot of our guys were kind of taken aback by the level (of play) that conference basketball requires. Albright just seemed to play harder, more aggressive. Credit has to be given to them.”
Van Pelt's squad appeared to be ready to play early in Wednesday's tilt, as senior Jamie Yoder led the team with 11 first-half points off a four of six shooting effort from the field. A long ball from Yoder gave Messiah a 22-18 lead with just under seven minutes to play in the first half, while an acrobatic layup from the senior guard made it a 24-21 Falcons' advantage with five and a half minutes to go before the intermission.
Albright, however, would close the first period with a mini-run of its own, sparked by an offensive rebound tip-in from junior Zac Shaeffer. When Shaeffer buried a three with 1:23 to play, Albright led by a 29-27 score, eventually pulling ahead by a 32-27 count at the break.
“We got dominated on the boards, and we couldn't get that under control (after halftime),” said Van Pelt, whose team was outrebounded by a 21-8 difference at the half and a 43-27 margin overall. “We just seemed a bit tentative all night. Again, Albright was the aggressor, so they got the loose balls, knocked balls out of our hands. It was that upper-level, league play that you've got to expect and play up to.”
Even as Messiah scratched to get back into the mix – a three-pointer from freshman Chris Yoder and a layup from sophomore Phil Ribbens preceded a layup from Jamie Yoder to help pull the Falcons' ahead 42-40 – Albright simply gave itself more opportunities. The guests made a total 25 of 60 shots from the field on the night (41.7 percent), shooting 11 more times from the floor than Messiah (20 of 49, 40.8 percent).
Many of those extra chances came off of offensive rebounds, as the Lions pounded the glass for 18 caroms on their end of the floor – a season-high allowance from the Falcons this year.
Following Albright's big run, it was the visitors' ability to convert at the free throw line that iced things, as the Lions made their last eight attempts in the game's final minute – buoying a four of 10 performance over the preceding 39 minutes of action.
“They beat us on the boards, they hurt us in transition, and those are energy, effort type things,” Van Pelt said. “I think we were a bit tentative, and that's our job as coaches to make sure we're not tentative.”
Jamie Yoder's 17 points paced Messiah offensively, leading four starters in double-figures. Senior Kyle Snyder recorded his sixth career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Josh Hartman scored 11. Chris Yoder added 10 points on a four of nine shooting performance, grabbing three boards as well.
Ashcroft led all scorers, knocking down nine of 16 shots to pour in 24 points for Albright – a career-high.
“I thought we could have attacked the basket a little bit better,” Van Pelt said. “That may have gotten us to the line a few more times, and maybe opened up some even better looks on the perimeter. But I thought Albright defended us well. Again, credit goes to them.”
Van Pelt's club will not have long to stew over Wednesday's defeat, as the early-season Commonwealth Conference schedule rolls on: The Falcons will travel to arch-rival Elizabethtown College Saturday afternoon, serving as the nightcap of a men's-women's double-header. Game time for the men is set for 4 p.m. in E'Town's Thompson Gymnasium.
