Messiah v. Dickinson Box Score -
Messiah v. Oneonta Box Score
Carlisle, PA — After a less than stellar display of basketball Friday evening, Messiah responded with improved play Saturday, claiming a split decision at the Dickinson College/Pizza Hut Tip-Off Tournament over the weekend.
The Falcons knocked off Oneonta State University by a 56-48 score in Saturday's consolation game after failing to maintain a near game-long lead Friday, dropping a 50-56 decision to the host Red Devils as a result.
“This was a good tournament for us, considering where we are at as a team,” said Rick Van Pelt, Messiah head coach. “We're still trying to find our rhythm offensively and still learning our rotations. Some of the areas where we need improvement will take some time and experience to work themselves out. Each game we play is good for us as a group in that regard.”
Neither Messiah (2-1) nor Dickinson (1-0) scorched the Kline Center nets in Friday's late game, as the Falcons kept the Red Devils to a lowly 13 of 47 pace from the floor (27.7 percent) but could only muster a 17 of 49 effort (34.7 percent) on their own offensive end.
Despite those numbers, Van Pelt's club scored nine of the game's first 13 points and equaled their largest lead on two different occasions in the second half, the final coming on a jumper from freshman Brad Bolen at the 10:44 mark — putting Messiah in front by a 34-29 score.
When freshman David Fernandez scored a driving layup with 8:15 to play, the Falcons led 37-33.
A 14-2 Dickinson run over the game's next five minutes would permanently alter the complexion of the game, however.
The Red Devils buried three of five shots from the floor and aggressively got to the free throw line during that stretch, hanging eight freebies on the Falcons. On the opposite end, Messiah missed six of eight shots from the field while committing three turnovers, eventually trailing by a 49-41 score with 3:23 to play.
A three-pointer from Bolen pulled Messiah back to within a 52-47 deficit with 50 seconds to go, but five consecutive makes from the foul line helped keep the Red Devils' lead comfortable in the final minute of competition.
“We had probably four wide-open looks (during Dickinson's run) that we didn't hit,” Van Pelt said. “When you combine that with the amount of turnovers we had, you're just not going to hang onto a lead. Defensively, we scrapped, but offensively we were sloppy. We really didn't execute anything well all night.”
The final statistics reflected as much, as Van Pelt's club was without a double-figure scorer. Senior Josh Hartman and sophomore Chris Yoder each scored nine points, while junior Jeremiah Runkle chipped in five to go with a team-high 10 rebounds.
Messiah committed a season-high 23 turnovers, while sending Dickinson to the line 29 times — a gift the hosts turned into 26 points.
Finding offense was not a problem for the Falcons Saturday, however, as senior Tyler Ritzman notched a career-best 21 points on seven of 12 shooting. That pace began early, as Ritzman canned two of his three triples in the first three and a half minutes, helping the Falcons to a 13-2 lead. A layup from classmate Andy Hawk gave Messiah a 20-8 lead with 11:29 to go before the half, while Van Pelt's team still led by 11 points with 1:42 to play.
A pair of jumpers pulled Oneonta State (0-2) back within nine points at the intermission, but the Red Dragons' biggest push would come after the break: A long ball from Oneonta's Terrence Parker made it a 37-34 game with 11:40 to play, the first of five occasions that Oneonta would cut the lead to three.
Ritzman was there to bail the Falcons out on the last close call, however, knocking in his final jump shot of the afternoon with 1:23 to play. That bucket made it a 50-45 ballgame, while an ensuing jumper from Hartman put the spread at 52-47.
The Red Devils pulled within six points on their next possession, but a pair of free throws from Ritzman iced it for Messiah after Oneonta State was forced to foul.
Ritzman's 21 edged his previous career-high of 18 points, set in a 79-66 win over Lebanon Valley College Feb. 18 of last year. Hawk added 14 points on a six-of-nine shooting performance Saturday, while Hartman, Bolen and Runkle each scored six.
“We executed much better on Saturday and we continued to defend,” Van Pelt said. “(Junior) Trey (Ritzman) did a great job on their best player (Troy Talbot), who scored 21 points Friday night. Josh Hartman also did a really good job defensively, guarding dribble penetration. When we make shots we're a pretty good team. The foul line is an area where we need to get better. We were good at the free throw line last year. This year, we haven't been.”
Messiah made just 20 of 29 charity tosses on the weekend (68.9 percent), numbers that were actually an improvement from the team's 10 of 19 effort in its season-opening, 68-58 win at Lancaster Bible College Tuesday.
Van Pelt said his team would have to make the most of free chances this Tuesday, as the Falcons travel to York College before taking an extended break for the Thanksgiving holiday. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at York's Charles Wolf Gymnasium.
