Reading, PA — Whatever junior
Andy Hawk ate for his pregame meal Saturday, it was clear his teammates were ordering off a different menu.
Hawk buried all four of his first-half three-point attempts and went five of six from the field, scoring 14 points to lead all scorers at the break in Saturday's MAC Commonwealth showdown at Albright College.
His teammates were not as fortunate.
The remainder of the Messiah lineup went just two of 22 from the field (9.1 percent) and zero for seven from three-point range, as the Falcons made just seven of 28 first-half shots overall (25 percent) in falling behind by a 26-40 score at the intermission.
That would ultimately be the difference, as the host Lions maintained the spread in an 87-73 league decision at the Bollman Center.
“You take a look at the stat sheet, and it really tells the story,” said Rick Van Pelt, Messiah head coach. “Outside of Andy Hawk and (sophomore) Colton Reitz, we shot very, very poorly. In turn, Albright found open people on their end, and they knocked down shots.”
Reitz scored seven first-half points on a two of four effort from the floor and a three of four tally at the free throw line, making the other seven Falcons that saw first-half action zero for 18 from the field.
Albright was able to surge ahead behind a 17 of 35 first-half shooting performance (48.6 percent), leading by six points just four minutes in while extending the advantage to 16 points (40-24) before senior Jason Miller knocked in a pair of free throws with 1:27 on the clock to provide the halftime difference.
Messiah (8-15, 5-5) would go on to make a much more respectable 15 of 39 shots from the floor in the second half (39.5 percent), but the damage had been done: Albright (15-8, 6-4) scored 17 of the second half's first 20 points to open up a game-high 57-29 advantage with 16:21 remaining, and Van Pelt's team was forced out of its usual identity in trying to play catch-up.
“We tried to chip away (at the lead), but Albright made some big shots at the start of the second half,” Van Pelt said. “We tried to limit (Albright 6-9 center) Phil Hall, but when you're as big as he is, it takes more than one person to do that. He made some really good decisions and they hit some open shots. After that, we had to go a little nuts pressing and trapping, just to try to get back in it.”
Hall finished with a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds, helping the Lions maintain at least a 19-point spread until the final nine minutes of action. A three pointer from freshman Mike Shaker trimmed a 70-50 Lions' advantage to 17 points at the 8:44 mark, while another long ball from Shaker made it a 71-56 difference just 10 seconds later.
Messiah would pull within 15 points on four different occasions, but a consistent Albright attack pushed the lead back to 20 (87-67) with 1:53 to play. Messiah scored on four straight free throws to close the game, while a layup from sophomore Tyler Storch provided the final 14-point margin.
Hawk scored 20 points to lead Messiah's effort, while sophomore Josh Hartman added 14 and Shaker 12. Messiah shot just 17 of 25 from the free throw line (68 percent) while being outrebounded by a 43-33 difference. It was the first time the Falcons were outrebounded in the team's last eight games.
“I think Albright is a very good team, and I thought they played well,” Van Pelt said. “I didn't think we played very well at either end of the floor. We weren't very sharp and we certainly didn't make shots. It was somewhat disappointing, given how important every game is in this conference.”
Saturday's result keeps things in doubt for several schools in the MAC Commonwealth Conference, as only two teams have secured spots for the four-team league playoffs with just two regular-season games remaining. Messiah can punch its ticket with a win at Lycoming College Tuesday night, though the Warriors are 8-4 at home in MAC Commonwealth play since joining the league last year.
“It's traditionally been a tough place for all of our league to play,” Van Pelt said. “But we're in the same boat we've been in for the entire conference season. Every game has had a huge impact on our post-season chances. Tuesday is no different. It may seem bigger, because it's toward the end of the year, but every game for us has been huge. We'll have to prepare for it as a playoff game and go in with that mindset.”
Messiah will face the Warriors in the second leg of a women's-men's double-header Tuesday night. Game time is slated to begin at 8 p.m.
