Grantham, PA – The Messiah men's basketball team overcame a slow start to cruise to a 91-61 victory over the Clarks Summit University Defenders in the season opener on Tuesday night. Josh Clippinger led the way with 26 points and 8 rebounds and Rob McWilliams had an impressive first game of his career with 13 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
 
With the victory, Messiah improves to 1-0, taking their sixth season-opener out of the last seven. It was opening night for the Defenders as well, as they fall to 0-1.
 
The Falcons went 32 of 77 (41.6%) from the field and 10 of 30 (33.3%) from beyond the arc, compared to 20 of 55 (36.5%) and 3 of 13 (23.1%) for the Defenders. Messiah outrebounded Clarks Summit 48-39, and forced 25 Defender turnovers that led to 26 points for the Falcons. Messiah was also very impressive from the free-throw line, shooting 17 of 19 for a fantastic clip of 89.5%.
 
The early going was rough for the Falcons, as they fell behind by a 14-11 margin at the 12:36 mark of the first-half, only shooting 4 of 11 from the field. Messiah needed a spark to gain momentum, and it came in the form of a resounding two-handed flush from Clippinger that brought the student section to its feet.
 
The dunk began a 12-0 run for the Falcons that was led by seven points from Clippinger and five from Logan Long, including a long triple from the top of the arc to take a 23-14 lead at the 9:32 mark.
 
The scoring went back-and-forth over the next five minutes, with the Messiah lead never rising above 12. After a Defender jumper from Evan Dougoud cut the lead to eight with 4:50 remaining in the half, the Falcons began another great run to close out the period. Rob McWilliams knocked down two threes and a layup and Luke Cable made a twisting layup with a foul, knocking down the free throw, as part of a 13-4 stretch to close out the first-half with the Falcons leading 47-30.
 
Clippinger and Nate Eberle were both already in double-figures at the half, scoring 15 and 10, respectively. Luke Cable picked up right where he left off last year running the point, dishing out six assists in the opening period.
 
The Falcons' offense started the second-half slow, much like the first, only scoring six points in the first five and a half minutes (all by Clippinger). The attack would then come alive, spurred by another and-one from Luke Cable and back-to-back triples from Rob McWilliams and Colin Sareyka to take a 28-point lead, 64-36, with 12 minutes to play.
 
Messiah would cruise the rest of the way to a 91-61 victory, highlighted by a spinning, left-handed layup with a foul from Noah Cable at the 6:10 mark and two buckets in the final 70 seconds from Shane Curry.
 
Logan Long also ended the game in double figures with 10 points and four boards, and Luke Cable finished with six points, seven assists, and two steals. John McCloskey led the Defenders with 15 points and five rebounds.
 
The Falcons will now host the TownePlace Suites Tip-Off this Friday and Saturday. They face Immaculata University on Friday at 8:00 p.m., and will face either the College of Mount Saint Vincent or Ursinus on Saturday, time TBD.