Annville, PA - The Messiah Falcons got a much needed win Saturday afternoon when they defeated the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen 81-67 in Annville.
 
The Falcons got off to a very hot start in Saturday's game, after LVC made a layup to opening the scoring the Falcons responded with three's from Zac Hoy and Luke Cable. The three's were a sign of things to come for Hoy and Cable who were both red hot for the Falcons.
 
The Falcons led by as many as seven in the early going, but the Dutchmen used as 10-4 to bring the margin within one just over nine minutes into the contest.
 
With 9:17 remaining in the first-half and with the Falcons clinging to a two-point lead, Zac Hoy hit his second three of the game that began a 16-6 run in favor of the Falcons that covered 5:19. At the end of the run, the Falcons held a 12-point, 36-24 lead – their largest of the half.
 
By halftime the lead had been cut to six – 37-31. Thanks to a 7-1 Dutchmen run to finish the half
 
After the break, the Falcons again started out quickly. Zac Hoy hit two free throws and Josh Clippinger made a three within the first minute of the half to push the Falcons' lead back to double-digits.
 
With the Falcons now holding an 11-point lead, they took control of the second-half, holding a lead for the entirety of the half. While the Dutchmen did make make a few runs during the half, the Falcons always seemed to hit the big shot when they needed one. The Dutchmen never got closer than six-point margin in the half.

In the final five minutes, big threes from Clippinger and Micah Brown extended the Falcons lead and Messiah went on to win by a final score of 81-67.  
 
In the game, the Falcons committed a season-low seven turnovers. It was also the first time the Falcons have committed fewer than 10 turnovers in a game since last Feb. in a game against Widener.
 
The Falcons have lived and died on the three-ball all season and today's game was no exception. The Falcons made a season-high 12 three-pointers and shot their second best percentage from beyond the arc on the season making 57.1% (12-21) in the contest.
 
Including today's game, when the Falcons shoot over 29% from downtown in a game they are 9-1, when they shoot under 29% they are just 1-6.
 
As mentioned, Hoy and Cable led the Falcons' offense scoring 24 and 20 points respectively. It marks only the second time this season that two Falcons have each scored 20-plus points in the same contest – the other being David Fernandez-Bravo and Josh Clippinger against John Jay.

The 24 points is a career-high for Hoy. He also added seven assists – a season-high for him – while only turning the ball over once.
 
With the win the Falcons advance to 3-6 in the conference (10-7 overall) and will next take the court at home on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. when Lycoming visits Brubaker Auditorium.