Box Score
By Bryn Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA — Saturday night in Brubaker Auditorium, visiting Alvernia University got a serving of Messiah's entire season — in microcosm format.
As has so often been the case for the Falcons this year, a competitive first half was followed by a huge second half, culminating in a double-digit victory.
The latest example came by virtue of a 19-4 run over the final 10 minutes of play, turning a 48-45 contest into a 67-49 final, Messiah's fourth straight win and eighth by 15 or more points on the year.
“We obviously were pleased with how we finished, but we're also please with how we stayed after it tonight,” said Mike Miller, Messiah head coach. “It was a game where we needed a calmness. I thought we did a good job staying focused and playing with poise.”
It was only the latest in a recent trend of solid play for Miller's club, as Messiah (14-6, 8-2) won for the 10th time in its last 11 games, and now has more wins (two) in the first five days of February than the entire month of December (one).
Things began accordingly Saturday, as the Falcons jumped out to an early 12-6 lead, sparked by three-pointers from freshman Taylor Miller and sophomore Dori Gyori.
But Alvernia (12-9, 5-5) scored eight straight points to take a 14-12 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining in the half.
The Falcons responded with consecutive three-pointers by Miller and sophomore Jordan Seiz. Gyori added a layup to give the Falcons a 22-16 lead with 6:21 to play.
Messiah and Alvernia traded baskets back and forth, and the Falcons entered halftime with a 31-27 lead.
"In the first half, we gave up more points than we wanted," Miller said. "We performed much better in the second half. (Alvernia) also averages 24 free throws per game, but we held them to eight today."
Keeping the Crusaders off the line proved to be important, as Miller's allowed the visitors to connect on 21 of 52 total shots from the floor (40.4 percent), but just one of five from three-point land (20 percent).
Conversely, Messiah rained threes from all angles, equaling a season-high nine made triples — on a season-best 69.2 shooting percentage.
The Falcons led 38-31 a few minutes into the second half, but Alvernia scored seven in a row to tie the game at 38.
After the Falcons scored four of seven to take a 42-41 lead, Messiah closed out the game on the aforementioned run, including eight in a row to increase the lead from 59-47 to 67-49.
The win came via the Falcons' largest margin of victory since a 73-50 domination of Lehman College Jan. 3.
Taylor Miller turned in easily her best game of her short career, scoring 21 points on eight of 12 shooting, including an unbelievable five of six from behind the arc. She also dished out a career-high five assists.
"Taylor was great," said Miller. "She kept things calm when it was crazy early on. She had a career high in points and assists, which is very impressive. Her stats weren't mind blowing, but Dori was also great. She guarded (Alvernia's Angela Altemose) one of the best forwards in the league, who averages 20 and 10 per game, and today she was just 12 and six."
Messiah connected on 25 baskets and recorded 23 assists — an incredible 92 percent rate, compared to Alvernia University, who scored 21 baskets and tallied 12 assists.
"I still think the team is learning how to handle the pressure," Miller said. "We have a relatively new team. They're still learning the process and they have so many different things to think about."
The red-hot Falcons travel to Lebanon Valley College on Feb. 9th, the only team to deal the squad a league loss to date. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
