Messiah University

Grantham, PA - The Messiah Falcons held a 46-34 lead over the Alvernia Crusaders with 6:44 remaining, however the Falcons were unable to hold on and fell to the Crusaders by a 61-58 final. Alvernia ended the game on a 27-12 to pick up their first MAC Commonwealth victory of the season.

Mike Miller led all scorers with 16 points to lead the Crusaders. Matt Hess led the Falcons with 15 points off the bench and Micah Brown added 12 in a losing effort.
 
The first seven-minutes of the contest were level pegging between the two sides. Messiah held a 7-6 lead 6:36 into the game after Micah Brown hit a jumper in the paint. However Alvernia's George Sapp hit a quick jumper at the other end to begin a quick 10-2 run to give the Crusaders a 16-9 lead. Back-to-back threes by Alex Shippen and Mike Miller heighted the three and a half minute run.
 
Messiah battled back with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 16-16. On the run Matt Hess hit a jumper and two free throws while BJ McHenry made a three to tie the game up. Across the final six minutes of the first-half the Crusaders and Falcons traded buckets before Charles Cooper made two free throws right before the break to give Alvernia a 23-22 break heading into the locker room.
 
Much like the first-half the game remained close for the opening minutes of the second half. With 13:19 remaining in the contest, the Crusaders held a 30-29 lead after an Alex Shippen three. A layup by Garret McHenry started a 17-4 Falcon run over the next 6:35 to give Messiah their largest lead of the game at 46-34. On this run five different Falcons scored. The McHenry brothers combined for nine points, six for Garret and three for BJ. Matt Hess and Josh Clippinger also scored three apiece and Neil Murran added two.
 
As mentioned the Falcons were unable to close the door on the Crusaders. A jumper by Mike Miller with 6:23 remaining stopped the Falcons' run and started the comeback for the Crusaders. Alvernia ended the game on a 27-12 run across the final 6:23 seconds downing the Falcons. Messiah did have an opportunity with just seconds left on the clock. After the Crusaders missed four free throws in the final 20 seconds, Micah Brown had a chance with three seconds left to tie the game with a three from the corner, but his attempt hit the back iron. Messiah grabbed the rebound and kicked it out to Hess as the buzzer sounded. While Hess' desperation three did go in, it was too late and the Falcons fell by a 61-58 final.
 
With the loss the Falcons fall to 3-6 overall and 0-3 in the MAC Commonwealth, while the Crusaders improve to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
 
Messiah will next take the court at Eastern Mennonite University on December 19th at 4:00 p.m.