Reading, PA — A season-high 56 percent shooting clip and some clutch free throws helped Messiah to another Commonwealth Conference win Monday night, as the Falcons led from start to finish in a 75-71 decision at Alvernia University.
Facing the Crusaders in a make-up game after being snowed in Saturday, Messiah (13-7, 6-4) found no troubles in keeping its recent mojo in tact, coming back in strong fashion after last week's miraculous 61-60 win over arch rival Elizabethtown College.
Monday's victory moved the Falcons into a two-way tie for third in the league standings, though another crucial contest looms just 48 hours away, as Lebanon Valley College is slated to visit Brubaker Auditorium Wednesday night.
“This was a big win, but you win one and the next one becomes huge,” Messiah head coach Rick Van Pelt said late Monday. “But that's a good issue to have. If you don't have big games coming up, that means you're not in the hunt.”
Van Pelt's team made certain it would remain in the thick of the Commonwealth post-season discussion Monday evening, canning 16 of 26 first-half shots (61.5 percent) to open up a 36-28 lead at the half. A jumper from junior Josh Hartman opened the contest, while another from classmate Colton Reitz followed.
Another bucket from Reitz was followed by a three-pointer from senior Kyle Synder, and when freshman Chris Yoder buried a three with 15:13 to go in the initial period, the Falcons led by a 12-4 count.
Messiah's lead would grow to 11 points on three different occasions before a layup from Yoder made it a 25-12 affair with 9:41 to play, while a late run from the hosts helped trim the halftime difference to eight.
Still, Messiah held Alvernia (14-7, 5-5) to just 37 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes (10 of 27), outrebounding the Crusaders by a 19-10 margin.
Those numbers would eventually finalize in a 38-21 Messiah advantage in overall rebounds for the game — the Falcons' most lopsided disparity in rebounding on the season.
“We did hammer the boards tonight,” Van Pelt said. “But it's really the same story for us. When we play hard and make shots, we're pretty good. Tonight we did both.”
Messiah's proficiency shooting the basketball didn't wane after the intermission, as Van Pelt's club slowly built a 53-36 lead at the midway point of the second half. A post basket from Yoder gave the Falcons their first 17-point lead with 1:33 to play, while a pair of free throws from Reitz equaled the advantage (55-38) with 10:49 to go.
It was at that point that Alvernia went for broke, attempting to speed up the game with extended defensive pressure.
Had it not been for Messiah's cool performance at the free throw line, it may have worked.
The Crusaders made it a two-possession game with 2:19 to play, keeping things tight until the final horn sounded. A traditional three-point play from Alvernia's Seth Cornell pulled the hosts to within a 69-65 disparity with just under a minute to go, while a Falcons' turnover and subsequent foul helped the Crusaders pull to a 69-66 gap with 46 seconds remaining.
Senior Jamie Yoder calmly buried a pair of free throws to pull Messiah back ahead by five, but again Alvernia answered, this time with Cornell burying a three to make it a 71-69 Messiah lead with 24 seconds on the game clock.
Another Messiah turnover followed, and when the Crusaders' EJ Logan lined up a wide-open three-pointer on the baseline with nine seconds to go, the first lead change of the night appeared imminent.
His shot banged off the rim, however, and Reitz was there to corral the board.
Reitz made both charity tosses after being fouled, and again Arcadia raced to the other end. Cornell drove in for another layup with four seconds to go, and Hartman was fouled immediately.
Like Reitz, Hartman canned both his attempts, providing the final difference with three seconds to play. Alvernia's final possession ended in a turnover — only the hosts' seventh of the night.
Snyder led the Falcons' prolific offensive push, scoring a career-high 18 to go with a game-high 13 boards — his fifth double-double of the season and ninth on his career. It was the 21st time Snyder had recorded a double-figure rebounding total in a game.
Reitz finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Chris Yoder tacked on 12 boards to go with four assists. Jamie Yoder scored 11 points — all in the second half — while dishing out a game-high five helpers.
“Alvernia fought tooth and nail tonight,” Van Pelt said. “We didn't necessarily handle the late-game situations as well as we would have liked, but fortunately we made just enough free throws and just enough plays to keep them at bay. I thought we came out with a good mindset both offensively and defensively. Kyle Snyder played hard, he played real hard. He knocked down some jump shots, too, which was good to see.”
Messiah will now take a total of one day's preparation into Wednesday's game against Lebanon Valley, a team that has seemingly broken its curse of close-knit losses: Including a 65-63 loss to the Falcons Jan. 20, LVC had lost eight in a row and five by two points or less.
Since Jan. 30, however, the Dutchmen have won three straight, including a 75-72 overtime win at league-leading Lycoming College last Wednesday.
“LVC seems like they've gotten over the hump a little bit,” Van Pelt said. “They could be gaining some confidence after losing so many close ones in a row. It's going to be a tough game.”
Messiah is slated to face LVC at 8 p.m. Wednesday night as part of a men's-women's double-header, but fans are wise to keep an eye on the Falcons' schedule page for possible postponements. With another mid-Atlantic blizzard forecast for Tuesday night into Wednesday, Van Pelt is keeping his calendar open.
“We'll play when we play,” he said Monday night. “We can't control the weather, so we'll just show up when they tell us to.”
