Grantham, PA - The Falcons fell to Lebanon Valley 83-80  in their first Commonwealth Conference contest of the season on Saturday night. The Falcons took a 37-27 lead into the half, but the Dutchmen outscored the Falcons by 13 after the break to give the Falcons their first loss of the season.

Lebanon Valley jumped out to an early 11-6 advantage in the first five minutes of the game. Three straight scores from the Falcons, including a three by David Fernandez-Bravo, put Messiah up by two with 13:17 left in the first-half.
 
The two squads played even across the next 4 minutes, until Fernandez-Bravo broke a tie game with a layup in the paint. That layup was the beginning of a 12-1 run that put the Falcons in the driver's seat for the remainder of the opening half. After leading by as many as 12 at two different points in the first-half, the Falcons headed to the break leading the Dutchmen by 10, 37-27.
 
The first six minutes of the second-half, felt much like the first. The Falcons were in control with a lead that felt comfortable. With 14:12 left in the game, and with the Falcons leading by 12, the Dutchmen mounted a 7-0 in just over a minute to pull within five. Across the next three minutes, the Dutchmen continued to chip away at the Falcon lead. Eventually taking the lead for the first time in over 23 minutes, when Kevin Agnew hit a three at the 10-minute mark to give LVC a one-point advantage.
 
That lead was short lived, as the Falcons immediately went on a 9-0 run to go back up by eight. The run included layups by Fernandez-Bravo and Luke Cable, a three by Zac Hoy, and two free throws by Jimmy Brackett. While the run created some temporary separation between the Falcons and Dutchmen, LVC would not go away so easily. After clawing their way back into the game, they took the lead back when Peyton Carper hit a three with 1:30 left.
 
Geoff Boyle took the lead right back for the Falcons thanks to two made free throws on the next possession. After Boyle's free throws, the Dutchmen hit a deep three that gave LVC a two-point lead. However, Fernandez-Bravo answered for the Falcons with a three of his own.
 
With the Falcons now leading by one and with less than 30 seconds left to play, the Dutchmen took another long three. This one missed missed wide and it appeared that Josh Clippinger came away from the scramble for the board with the ball. However the referees called for a jump ball and the possession arrow favored LVC.
 
After the jump ball, the Dutchmen went 4-4 from the free throw line in the final few seconds, while the Falcons went 0-2. With free throws sealing the deal the Dutchmen left Brubaker Auditorium with an 83-80 victory to open Commonwealth Conference play.
 
The win improves the Dutchmen to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the Conference, while the loss is the Falcons first of the year, as they fall to 4-1 overall and 0-1 to start Conference play.
 
David Fernandez-Bravo fell just one rebound and one assist shy of a rare triple-double. Though he did lead the Falcons with 21 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists