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By Bryn Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA - Just four days after his absence caused a postponement of the Falcons' game with Widener University, Messiah head coach
Mike Miller returned to the sidelines—and reminded everyone that he's pretty good at halftime speeches.
The Messiah Falcons used a 27-4 run to start the second half to propel them to a 62-33 win over Lycoming College. The victory moved Messiah to 8-2 in the Commonwealth, and 17-4 overall.
"We didn't prepare any harder than we normally do," said Messiah's assistant coach,
Larry Sassaman. "Since we had already played them before, we knew what to expect and what they like to do. They play a very good zone defense and they don't give up a lot of points. We were sure we were ready for the zone-looks they were going to show."
The Falcons, playing once again without junior standout
Katelyn Vanderhoff, had four players score in double-figures. The team was led by junior
Dori Gyori's 21 points and 9 rebounds. .
"We started Jordan (Seiz) tonight and she did a great job,” Sassaman said, commenting on the balanced effort of the Messiah squad. “Their leading scorer (sophomore Julia Antonelli) does a lot for them, and she didn't score much tonight. Jordan, Taylor (Miller) and Becca (Albus) all did a nice job on her defensively."
The game began with quick points by both teams, as the Falcons took a 5-0 lead on a layup by Gyori and a three-pointer from Miller. Lycoming responded by adding six points within the next minute.
The Falcons clung to a slim lead for most of the first half, before ending the frame on a 6-0 run. While also holding Lycoming scoreless over the final three minutes, they took a 31-21 lead at the halfway point of the game.
As they have done so many times before, the Falcons played exceptionally sharp coming out of the locker room for the second half. They allowed just a single bucket in the first 14 minutes of the half, and none over an 11-minute span. From the 14:38 mark to the 6:14 mark in the second half, they did not allow a single point.
"We just picked things up a little bit," Sassaman said. "We talked about some things at halftime that we needed to improve. Even though they scored 21 in the first half, we knew we do more to limit their chances. We have defensive goals and our players worked hard to accomplish those goals in the second half, which we did."
They used a 21-0 run by their offense to put the game away for good, which included points by seven different players. The Falcons led 58-25, at which point head coach
Mike Miller began substituting regularly.
"Our zone offense works because of our movement," Sassaman said. "We were able to get things inside with Dori and Kira (Maier) early, and then start making some perimeter shots. The zone offense that we've been working on finally kicked in."
Miller, Hess, and Maier joined Gyori in double-figure scoring with 12, 10, and 10 points, respectively. Maier added a career-high six assists.
The loss drops Lycoming to 5-6 in the Commonwealth, and 10-11 overall.
The Falcons move to 17-4 (8-2) for the season. Their next game is at Arcadia University on Saturday, February 11th at 1:00 p.m.
