Box Score
Elizabethtown, PA — Snow pushed an originally scheduled game at Commonwealth Conference rival Elizabethtown College from Tuesday to Wednesday. An ice storm then delayed it until Thursday.
For Messiah and its current winning streak, however, none of that mattered.
The Falcons kept their unblemished record in tact in the second round of league play, handing E'Town its first home loss of the season in a 66-62 decision — holding the Blue Jays to under 40 percent shooting from the floor for just the second time of the year.
Some clutch free throw shooting at the very end staved off an impressive Elizabethtown comeback, as Messiah (10-9, 5-4) rattled off its third straight Commonwealth win while keeping pace in the neck-and-neck league standings — a post-season berth still well within the team's grasp.
“I thought we played just well enough to get this one,” said Rick Van Pelt, Messiah head coach. “It's always going to be a fight when you play your rivals, and tonight was no different. We made just enough shots, just enough plays to get out of here with a win.”
Van Pelt's club made plenty of shots early, scoring 10 of the game's first 14 points to race out to a 10-4 lead just six minutes into the action. A three-pointer from junior Trey Ritzman made it a 15-5 affair with 11:50 to go in the first period, while a traditional three-point play from junior Jeremiah Runkle maintained that spread with 7:05 to go.
Another post bucket from Runkle made it a 27-19 game with 4:05 remaining, but Elizabethtown (15-4, 6-3) closed the period with a spurt: A layup from the Blue Jays' Kyle McConnell ignited a 8-4 run to close the half, with only a three-pointer from sophomore Derek Mosley and a free throw from Runkle serving as Messiah's points during that span.
E'Town carried that momentum into the second half as well, taking its first lead just three minutes in off a layup from Dan Silver. When the Jays' Joe Flanagan scored off an offensive rebound at the 16:07 mark, Elizabethtown led by a 38-35 score, and Thompson Gymnasium was rocking.
It was nothing that a 19-1 Messiah run couldn't silence, however.
Van Pelt's club forced E'Town into eight consecutive missed shots from the floor and a pair of turnovers over the game's next seven minutes, beginning its run in the most benign of fashions: After freshman David Fernandez made the first of two free throws, Runkle tipped in the second. Runkle then got free in the paint for a layup, and Mosley canned back-to-back threes, putting Messiah up 46-38.
When Fernandez scored a twisting layup the combination of Trey Ritzman and Derek Mosley added another two three balls to the mix, the Falcons led 54-39 with just 9:03 to play — stunning the nearly 1,000 in attendance.
“We shot the ball from outside pretty well tonight, but it came from some different sources,” Van Pelt said. “I think E'Town did a good job of making us move the basketball, but we had guys step up and make open shots.”
Like any Messiah-Elizabethtown clash, however, Thursday's game would not turn into a haymaker. The Blue Jays slowly began their push back into the mix, though the disparity was still 10 points (56-46) with just over six minutes to go.
Three straight E'Town layups — plus a foul on the third — helped pull the score to a 56-53 deficit with 3:26 to go, and after a missed three from senior Tyler Ritzman, E'Town tied the game off a McConnell three-point play at the 2:42 mark.
From that point, it was similar to a prize fight. The teams traded scores on each of their next two possessions, making it a 60-60 game with just under a minute to go. Van Pelt then called a timeout and set up a play for Fernandez, and the Miami native drew a foul on the way to the rim.
He banked in the first charity toss. Then he did it again.
“With the crowd the way it was, and the pressure of the situation, he told me he was rattled on that first free throw,” Van Pelt said. “Then he told me, 'the only way I'm going to make this second one is if I bank it in.' I'll take any strategy, as long as it works.”
Fernandez's backboard-aided freebies proved to ultimately be the difference, as the Falcons got a stop on their next defensive trip. E'Town then fouled Mosley with 16 seconds to go, and the Stafford, Va. native calmly stepped to the line and drained both of his attempts, making it a 64-60 affair. After another E'Town turnover, sophomore Chris Yoder iced things with a layup. Only a moot post bucket from McConnell trimmed the score to the final four-point margin at the buzzer.
Runkle continued his torrid play of late, registering his third straight double-double with a game-high 15 points and 12 rebounds. Mosley chipped in 14 points, equaling his career-best, while Fernandez scored 11 to go with eight caroms. While the usually reliable-shooting Tyler Ritzman struggled (just two of eight from three-point land), younger brother Trey and Mosley did not, going a combined seven of 10 from downtown.
“I thought defensively we were good but not great tonight,” Van Pelt said. “Offensively, we had some good and some not so good moments as well. But, I thought we really kept our poise when E'Town made their run, and we made the most of our free throw opportunities when we had to have them. If you want to win conference games at this time of the year, you're not going to get them by 15 points or more. It's going to come in these types of games, where each possession matters.”
Winners of their last three, the Falcons will not have long to prepare for the conference's top team, as Alvernia University visits Brubaker Auditorium Saturday evening at 7 p.m.
“We're looking forward to it,” Van Pelt said. “I think we're beginning to play with a little more confidence, and our schedule is giving us some really good tests. It should be another great game.”
