Box Score
By Bryn Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Reading, PA - Despite shooting 1-5 from the free throw line in the final 65 seconds of the game, the Falcons' managed to ride a late 10-point lead to a 57-54 win over Alvernia University in Reading on Tuesday night. Sophomores
Brad Bolen and
David Fernandez each scored 13 points as the Falcons moved to 11-2 in the Commonwealth this season. Senior
Jeremiah Runkle added 7 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
With the win, Messiah clinches first place in the conference for the Commonwealth Championships that are to start next week. Alvernia falls to 7-6 in the Commonwealth, currently holding onto fourth place as the postseason seeding may not be finalized until the final day of the regular season.
The game was really a tale of three parts. The Falcons trailed early, 11-3, but then caught fire and took a seemingly insurmountable 52-34 lead with 6:38 remaining in the game. However, Alvernia rallied to score 20 of the next 25 points, including seven in the final minute. The Crusaders came to within a single shot of forcing what would have been the sixth overtime game of the season for Messiah.
"I told the guys that I thought we played really well for 33 to 35 minutes," said Messiah head coach
Rick Van Pelt. "I thought we played extremely well defensively and offensively for the majority of the game. (Alvernia) was like a caged bear when they were down. They were backed in a corner and then really came after us, and we didn't take care of the ball. They made a run and came right back into it."
Neverthleless, the Falcons' late lead proved to enough as they held onto a slim margin to the final buzzer.
Things looked bleak for Messiah early in the game. Alvernia took a quick 4-0 lead, and later increased their lead to 11-3 behind a thunderous alley-oop dunk from Brian Nerney.
"Alvernia got out in transition in the beginning of the game," Van Pelt said. "We were missing shots early, and that allowed them to get into their offense quickly. They're real good in transition."
But the Falcons remained calm, scoring 13 of the next 20 points to take a 19-18 lead. Senior
Jeremiah Runkle started the scoring with a rare three pointer from the top of the key. Sophomore
David Fernandez added a pair of layups a few minutes later, and classmate
Taylor Groff followed with a big three pointer. Classmate
Christyan DeVan added a three-pointer to give the Falcons a 19-18 lead, their first of the game.
Sophomore
Brad Bolen then scored six in the final few minutes of the half on a three-pointer, a jumper, and a free throw, and the Falcons took a 28-24 lead into the intermission.
The Falcons scored the first four of the second half, but Alvernia quickly cut the lead to 32-29. That's when Messiah took over, scoring 14 points in a row to take a big 46-29 lead. Junior
Derek Mosley and freshman
Zac Hoy added threes, and Fernandez added a dunk.
The Falcons increased their lead to 52-34 with just 6:38 remaining, at what point the game appeared to be all but over. But the Crusaders went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 54-42 with 3:53 remaining. Messiah would still lead by 10, 56-46, with 1:07 left.
That's when things got really interesting.
After a missed free throw from the Falcons, the teams traded possessions until Nerney nailed a three-pointer with 40 seconds left. After another missed free throw, the Crusaders hit another jumper to cut the lead to 56-51 with 24 second remaining.
With Alvernia fouling on purpose once again, the Falcons missed yet another free throw. The Crusaders' Stefan Thompson was then fouled while attempting a long range shot, knocking down all three free throws to cut the Messiah lead to two points, 56-54.
After a Messiah inbounds pass and a foul by Alvernia, freshman
Zac Hoy connected on his second of two free offerings, and Messiah led 57-54 with six seconds left in the game. Alvernia came up shot on their final attempt, a three-pointer that clanged off the rim.
Despite the 57-54 victory, Van Pelt saw many areas for improvement from his team.
"Toughness with the basketball," he noted. "We had the ball in our hands a couple of times at the end and got it just ripped away from us.
"Free throw shooting, of course," he continued. "And we need to finish more plays at the end of the game. Down the stretch, we could have been better."
For Messiah, Fernandez and Bolen tied for the team lead with 13 points. Fernandez grabbed four boards and dished out six assists, while Bolen grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots.
Runkle scored seven points and collected 11 rebounds, and Mosley scored five points with eight rebounds. Senior
Trey Ritzman and DeVan each scored five points, and Hoy scored six points off the bench.
Alvernia shot just 20-54 (37.0 percent) from the field, including 5-20 (25 percent) on shots from downtown. Their top three shooters from the game (Nerney, Josh Vargas, and Thompson) combined to shoot just 11-37 (29.7 percent), including 4-17 (23.5 percent) from behind the arc.
"Defensively we had some guys who did a really good job for us," Van Pelt said. "I don't think it was one particular guy. A couple of guys did a real good job for us. That's kind of what got us going."
Messiah's victory, their third in a row, completed a season sweep of Alvernia, and improved the team to 17-6 (11-2). They clinched first place in the Commonwealth Conference for the first time since the 2006-2007 season.
"Our league is pretty solid," Van Pelt said. "You could get into all kinds of arguments on where it ranks in the country, and I have no idea, but I just feel like there are some really good teams in our league and some great coaches. It's really an honor and it feels really, really good to win the regular season this year."
With the loss, Alvernia will take a 7-6 record into the final weekend with aspirations for playing themselves into the Commonwealth postseason.
The Falcons will close out their regular season on Saturday, February 18th against Elizabethtown at 4:00 p.m. Seniors will be honored, as will the
Messiah College Athletics Hall of Honor induction class of 2012.
