Box Score
Grantham, PA — Perseverance, sharp shooting, and strong second half defense were major contributing factors in Messiah's 70-67 win Wednesday evening, handing Lycoming College their first loss of the season.
The Falcons trailed throughout the majority of the first half due to a seamless defensive press by the Warriors, which forced Messiah to turn the ball over 17 times.
Lycoming took advantage by converting those turnovers into 19 of their 41 first half points.
“We made some half time adjustments to limit our turnovers,”
Rick Van Pelt, Messiah's head coach, said. “They weren't able to trap (us) as easily (in the second half) and it made a big difference.”
Those adjustments proved to be ingenious as Messiah came out of the locker room scoring nine unanswered points, while holding the Warriors to only 26.
Junior
Trey Ritzman started things off by hitting his first of three second stanza three pointers just 45 seconds into the half. After a missed shot by Lycoming's Jerald Williams, senior
Tyler Ritzman duplicated his brother's efforts by draining his own triple to bring Messiah's deficit to only six points. Less than a minute later,
Trey Ritzman completed the scoring surge by hitting yet another from three point range.
“The Ritzman brothers had a great night,” Van Pelt said. “Trey is a solid ball-handler and makes good decisions and Tyler has been shooting well for us. Having them go 9 for 12 from behind the arc was huge.”
In the next eight minutes of play, Messiah would slowly chip away at Lycoming's lead by moving the scoring into the paint. Freshman
David Fernandez successfully drove the lane three times and sunk a free throw to post seven of his team-leading 18 points on the night.
“David can penetrate and attack really well,” Van Pelt said. “His skills really helped us in the second half.”
With 8:30 left to play and a missed layup by the Falcons, Lycoming's Will Kelly grabbed the rebound and threw an outlet pass to Jerald Williams, taking the ball the length of the court only to be blocked by Fernandez.
The Lycoming bench erupted in dispute, pleading for a foul. Head coach Guy Rancourt was the most prominent objector, which led to a bench technical and two free throws for Messiah.
Tyler Ritzman stepped to the line and hit both shots, bringing the Falcons within two.
In the next offensive possession, junior
Jeremiah Runkle kicked the ball out to
Tyler Ritzman who was poised and ready to drain another three. Messiah's deficit was now only one point and Brubaker Auditorium was rocking.
“This team kept believing they would win,” Van Pelt said. “The technical was a turning point for us.”
Despite a five point offensive surge by Lycoming, the Falcons equalized the score at 61 with three unanswered layups – two from Hernandez and the other from Runkle.
With only 5:15 to play, Messiah's tenacious defense and clutch shooting were too much for Lycoming to handle. The lead had officially changed.
Messiah broke the tie with another Fernandez layup followed by one last triple from
Trey Ritzman, who ended the night with 14 points, four rebounds, and five steals.
After a Lycoming timeout, the Warrior's in-bounds play sent the ball to Will Kelly who drew a foul from freshman
Brad Bolen. Kelly converted the two free throws, which brought Lycoming back to within three points of the lead.
As the Falcons moved the ball up the court, Lycoming tightened their defense and prevented any easy shot. Messiah quickly moved the ball around the perimeter, trying to find an opening. With the last seconds ticking away on the shot clock, Runkle slotted the ball to
Tyler Ritzman who put up an off-balance shot for his final three points, bringing the score to 69-63 - the biggest Messiah lead of the night. Ritzman finished the night with 17 points, going 5-7 from three-point land.
In the remaining three minutes of the game, Messiah's defense was paramount, holding Lycoming to four points on seven shots. Bolen came up big with two blocks and brought down two of his six defensive rebounds.
Runkle would finish out Messiah's offensive efforts by connecting on one of two foul shots at the 1:15 mark, while Lycoming snuck in a layup with :35 to play.
“Tonight boiled down to shooting and second half defense,” Van Pelt said. “Hats off to (Jeremiah) Runkle and (Andy) Hawk for shutting down Lycoming's inside game.”
The Falcons were 23 for 50 (46 percent) from the field while hitting 13 of their 21 (61.9 percent) attempts from behind the arc. At the foul line, Messiah was 11 for 15 (73.7 percent).
Messiah returns to action Saturday, traveling to Widener University's Schwartz Athletic Center to take on the Pride. Game time is set for 3 p.m.
