Orlando, FL – The Messiah College men's basketball team held their own against the No. 4 Hope College Dutchmen through the first-half before faltering in the second-half and falling by a final of 80-58 on Tuesday night. Micah Brown led the Falcons with 19 points, but it wasn't enough as the Dutchmen pulled away in the second-half for the 22-point victory.
 
Three Dutchmen collected double-digit points, with Brock Benson leading the way with 19. Benson also pulled down eight rebounds to pace Hope College.
 
The Falcons dominated the majority of the first-half, including a quick start with five straight makes from the field to start the game. Behind those five makes and six free throws, Messiah built a 17-8 lead in the first five minutes of the game. During this opening stretch, five different Falcons scored to build the nine-point advantage. Micah Brown led the way for Messiah with six of his team-high 19 points in the first five minutes of the game.
 
Messiah built their lead to the largest of the game at 11 points with the score 19-8 just 6:20 into the game. Hope then began chipping into the Falcons' lead. The Dutchmen went on a 19-7 run over the next 10:58, eventually taking their first lead of the game (27-26) with 2:43 remaining in the half. At the break, Hope held a 31-30 lead despite Messiah leading for the majority of the first 20 minutes.
 
Hope's one-point halftime lead quickly grew to a nine-point advantage just four minutes into the second-half. The Dutchmen continued to pressure the Falcons and pound the offensive glass. On the game, Hope dominated the offensive glass to a tune of 19-8.
 
Overall the Falcons were outscored in the second-half, 51-26. Micah Brown was the lone bright spot for the Falcons, collecting nine of the Falcons' 26 points after the break.
 
Hope's strong second-half led them to the 80-58 victory. It was Messiah's largest margin of defeat this season.
 
The loss is the Messiah's seventh straight and drops them to 3-9 on the season. With the win, Hope improves to 9-1 on the season.
 
Messiah will next take the court in the New Year when they host the Lycoming Warriors on Jan. 6th at 8:00 p.m.