Box Score
Grantham, PA — With a season-high 1,543 in attendance Saturday night in Brubaker Auditorium, Messiah tried to use the crowd's energy to get on top of Commonwealth Conference-leading Alvernia University.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, it just wasn't enough.
The Crusaders led from start to finish in a game where Messiah would not go away, canning six of eight free throws in the final 37 seconds to preserve a 58-54 league win — the Falcons' first conference defeat in their last four games.
Alvernia's Cory Boone scored a game-high 20 points — 14 of which came in the second half — and swatted five Messiah shots, a number that didn't include the alteration of several others.
“I thought the biggest thing tonight was Alvernia's big kid,” Messiah head coach Rick Van Pelt said of the 6-8 Boone. “He changed an awful lot of shots. We missed some open shots that we've been making, but when we tried to get to the rim, he was there to make a difference.”
It was clear that scoring would be at a premium — on either end — as the teams limped out to a 13-8 spread at the midway point of the first half. Alvernia (13-5, 9-1) increased its lead to 10 points (21-11) with 6:28 to go in the period, but an eight to four Messiah run closed the half — making it a 25-19 ballgame at the intermission.
The Crusaders' lead was still six points four minutes into the second period before back-to-back layups from freshman David Fernandez sandwiched a post bucket from junior Tyler Runkle, tying the game at 29-29. From that point, Alvernia would lead by no more than six points until the game's final minute of action.
“It was a game where one or two plays here or there would have been the difference,” Van Pelt said. “There were some loose balls we didn't come up with, there were a couple breakdowns defensively, and we didn't help ourselves from the free throw line in the few chances that we got. All of those things could have changed the way this game ended.”
Instead, it was Alvernia that made the plays, seemingly answering each Messiah run — and quieting a crowd that was itching to explode. When freshman Christian DeVan knocked down a three-pointer with 9:17 to play, Messiah (10-10, 5-5) trailed by just a point. Boone then scored a basket inside, however, blocked a shot on the Falcons' next trip and set a screen on Alvernia's ensuing offensive possession, opening up teammate Stefan Thompson for a wide-open three ball.
Like that, the Crusaders' lead was back to six points.
A similar situation ensued less than five minutes later, when freshman Brad Bolen — who came off the Messiah bench to have a career night — canned a triple, pulling the Falcons to a 43-46 deficit. The visitors were there to calm the crowd once more, however, as Alvernia's Tad Gillis buried a three of his own off a ball screen, making it a 49-43 affair with 3:56 to go.
An offensive rebound and putback from junior Trey Ritzman pulled the Falcons within four points with 2:52 remaining, but senior Andy Hawk was errant on a three-point attempt following an Alvernia turnover. It would be the last time Messiah would get that close, as Boone converted a layup following a loose ball scramble in the Crusaders' paint, pushing the lead back to six.
With the clock ticking under a minute, Messiah fouled to extend the game, but Alvernia didn't help the cause. Makes in each of the team's final four free throws — and six of eight in the final 37 seconds — kept the Falcons from getting any closer than five points, a spread which occurred when Bolen knocked in his fourth triple of the night.
“We had our chances,” Van Pelt said. “We couldn't get things going at the end. We didn't attack how I'd like us to, and we didn't draw contact and get to the foul line. (Boone) had a lot to do with that. We felt like we could've and should've won this game, but we didn't. They beat us tonight.”
Bolen finished with career highs in both points (17) and rebounds (six), making six of eight shots from the floor and all four of his three-point attempts in just 20 minutes of play. Fernandez scored 14 to go with six boards as well, while Runkle scored nine points.
Statistically speaking, the biggest difference came at the foul line, where Alvernia made 17 of 24 attempts (70.8 percent), a drastic difference from Messiah's two of eight performance (25 percent).
“Brad (Bolen) came in and chucked everything in to keep us in the hunt,” Van Pelt said. “We just didn't make enough plays in other areas to get it done.”
While the loss was disappointing — it was the Falcons' first in the second round of league competition — it must also be put behind: Messiah will travel to Lebanon Valley College Wednesday, in yet another game with potential post-season implications.
“Lebanon Valley is continuing to play well and it's a huge game for us,” Van Pelt said. “In reality, they all are at this time of the year. We've got to regroup and be ready to go.”
Wednesday's game time is set for 8 p.m. in LVC Gymnasium.
