Box Score
Frederick, MD – Sophomore
Zac Hoy scored seven of Messiah's final nine points on Wednesday night at Hood College, helping his Falcons team accomplish a 9-2 run to finish with a 63-53 win on the Blazers' home court. The Falcons' clinching run over the final few minutes came after Hood scored 13-straight points to turn a 54-38 deficit into 54-51 nail-biter.
“That was a really good game, very hard-fought,” Messiah head coach
Rick Van Pelt said. “Both teams played right to the end.”
Messiah senior
Derek Mosley hit a three-pointer to put the Falcons up 54-38 with 8:30 left, giving Messiah their largest lead of the night. But Hood refused to quit, as they held the visitors scoreless over the next 5:54 to draw within 54-51. Five different Blazers contributed to the late run as the Falcons turned the ball over six times in the same stretch.
Now ahead by just three points, Hoy made two free-throws to end the Blazers' 13-0 run. A jumper by Justin Bowens brought Hood to within 56-53 with 1:10 remaining, setting up the Falcons' biggest possession of the night.
Moving the ball around in the half-court—with Hood being sure not to foul—
Brad Bolen drove and kicked out to Hoy in the corner for a big three-pointer with just two seconds remaining on the shot clock. The shot put Messiah ahead 59-53 with just 38 seconds left, with Hoy and Mosley each hitting a pair of free-throws in the final seconds of the win.
“Zac played really well for us down the stretch,” Van Pelt said. “That three-pointer in the corner was really big.”
Hoy's bucket from downtown was the Falcons' tenth such made field goal, as they shot an impressive 10-21 from downtown.
“We shot the ball pretty well,” Van Pelt said, noting that Messiah has been shooting well in recent games. “Our shooting from three-point range was key for us.”
Overall, Messiah shot 42% from the entire field for the game, with Hood shooting just 39%. It was the third straight game—all against Commonwealth foes—that Messiah has held their opponent to under 40% shooting from the field.
Hoy and Mosley both finished with 14 points to lead Messiah, with Mosley and Bolen each grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Overall, the Falcons outrebounded the Blazers 37-26.
Despite the late drama, Messiah won after leading for most of the night; after taking an early 8-6 lead, the Falcons were never tied by Hood as they won their fourth-straight game on the road.
Brad Bolen (12) and
Taylor Groff (10) joined Hoy and Mosley in double-digit scoring for Messiah.
“Overall, it was a great win,” Van Pelt said of his team's victory. “Hood is very aggressive, and really well-coached. They could be a playoff team in our conference.”
Justin Stone and Justin Bowen led Hood with 15 points and 13 points, respectively. The loss drops them to 4-3 overall, including 1-2 in the Commonwealth.
The win moves Messiah to 3-0 in the Commonwealth and 4-2 overall. The win at Hood was the team's fourth-straight after they dropped the first two games of the season.
“We're playing well right now, but we know we can get better,” Van Pelt commended afterwards. “There are things we can build on, and there are areas in which we need to be better. We'll keep working.”
The Falcons will return to the court on Saturday, Dec. 1, when they play at home for the last time before the calendar turns. The Falcons will host Albright College at 7:00 p.m., their fourth of five Commonwealth games before January.
