Reading, PA – The Messiah Falcons defeated the Alvernia Crusaders 63-61 in a nail biter in Reading on Wednesday night. The Falcons shot 50.0% from the field (26-52) including a 7-15 mark from beyond the arc (46.7%).

With 17 seconds left in the game, Lamont Clark tied the game up with a jumper from the top of the key. This was the first time the Crusaders had tied the game since it was 4-4 just 2:08 into the contest.
 
With the score even at 61-61, David Fernandez-Bravo drove down the middle of the lane and put up a right-handed floater that found the bottom of the net to put Messiah up by two with just five seconds remaining.
 
"We wanted to get something towards the rim and try and leave them as little time as possible to get to the other end and have a chance." Said head coach Rick Van Pelt of the Falcons' final possession.
 
With just five seconds on the clock, the Crusaders brought it up the floor without calling a timeout. A final jumper from the top of the key missed to the right and the Falcons came away with the 63-61 victory.
 
For the majority of the game it did not seem that the contest was going to come down to the final seconds. The Falcons shot the ball extremely well on the evening, particularly in the first-half. At the break the Falcons led 39-28 and were shooting an even 60% from the field and from beyond the arc.
 
The Falcons never trailed in the contest, leading for a total of 38:32 out of the 40 minutes of game time. After scoring the first four points of the second-half, the Falcons held a 15-point cushion, their largest of the game at 43-28. However, the Crusaders quickly began chipping away at the Falcon lead going on a 10-2 run over the next 3:37 to pull to within seven.
 
The Falcon lead hovered between five to eight points for the next eight minutes. With five minutes remaining in the game and the Falcons leading by eight, Alvernia used a 9-3 run to pull the game to within a possession. With the Falcons going 1-5 from the field in the 4:29 stretch, they relied on their defense and rebounding to keep them in the game.
 
"Our ability to rebound the basketball during that stretch allowed us to stay in it, finish possessions and keep fighting." Said Van Pelt of his team in the late game stretch. "David (Fernandez-Bravo) and Geoff (Boyle) did a great job rebounding for us down the stretch, it was one shot and down."
 
The Alvernia stretch gave Lamont Clark a chance to tie the game in the final seconds before Fernandez-Bravo's drive to the bucket gave the Falcons the win.
 
For the game the Falcons outrebounded the Crusaders 38-28, with Geoff Boyle collecting 16 boards – a career high for Boyle and a season-high for any Falcon – to go along with 13 points in the victory. The double-double is Boyle's seventh of the season.
 
Zac Hoy led the Falcons offense with 20 points, he also collected three assists and four rebounds.
 
As a team the Falcons shot a solid 46.7% from beyond the arc (7-15) while the Crusaders shot just 19.2% from downtown (5-26). The 19.2% shooting performance from three-point land was the Crusaders worst percentage of the season.
 
With the win Messiah moves to 12-8 overall and 5-7 in the conference. The Falcons next take the court on Saturday at home when the Stevenson Mustangs travel to Grantham. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m.