Grantham, PA - The Messiah men's basketball team dropped a 72-67 contest against the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Tuesday night in Brubaker Auditorium. The Falcons trailed by as many as 13 points in the first-half, but battled back to take an eight-point lead early in the second-half. Unfortunately the Falcons did not have enough in the tank as the Dutchmen outlasted Messiah down the stretch taking the game by a five-point final.


The Dutchmen started off the night with a quick 9-2 run over the first four-minutes to take a seven-point lead. Andy Orr dominated the opening minutes with six points in the first four-minutes. Orr was a force to be reckoned with throughout the night, but particularly in the first-half. Orr scored 26 points on the night, with 17 points coming in the first-half.
 
The Dutchmen continued to expand their early lead, eventually growing it to as many as 13 points after Sam Light made a layup for the Dutchmen with 10:09 remaining in the first-half. After Light's layup Lebanon Valley led 21-8, but Messiah went on a 24-9 run over the next eight-plus minutes to take a brief 32-30 lead with 1:36 remaining in the half. The big Messiah run was highlighted by Jimmy Brackett's second three-pointer of the year. Including Brackett's three, seven different Falcons scored on the 8:33 run that gave Messiah their first lead of the game. A pair of free throws by Light tied the game at 32-32 heading to the intermission.
 
After the break, Messiah and Lebanon Valley but on a three-point shooting clinic that the Golden State Warriors would've been proud of. The Falcons and Dutchmen combined to shoot an impressive 13-20 (65.0%) from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes. Messiah's Logan Long and Lebanon Valley's Sam Light and Travis Conrad led the three-point barrage each going 3-4 from downtown.
 
The second-half opened much like the first-half, only this time is was the Falcons that jumped out to an early lead. Messiah used a 12-5 run to open up a seven-point lead at 44-37. Garret McHenry carried the Falcons on that run, scoring seven of the 12 points including That run lasted 5:08 and was led by a three by Logan Long and seven points by Garret McHenry (including a three of his own). The Falcons pushed their lead to as many as eight points after a McHenry layup with 11:57 left in the game.
 
The Dutchmen countered with an 8-0 run that spanned 1:03 on the clock to tie the game at 51-51 with 10:24 remaining. Over the final ten minutes every time the Falcons had a bucket the Dutchmen answered with one of their own. With 2:37 remaining, Josh Clippinger nailed a three to give Messiah a two-point lead at 63-61. Less than a minute later, Sam Light knocked down a tripled from the wing to give the lead right back to Lebanon Valley.
 
Over the final 1:41 in the game, the Dutchmen went 8-8 from the free throw line and Messiah could not close the deficit. With Messiah trailing by two a costly technical foul gave Lebanon Valley an extra pair of free throws in the final 15 seconds. Neil Murren hit a late three, but it wasn't enough as the Falcons fell 72-67.
 
Led by Josh Clippinger (14 points) and Garret McHenry (14), four Falcons scored in double-figures. Logan Long (12) and Neil Murren (10) also tallied 10-plus in the loss. Willie Hope and Matt Hess collected eight and seven assists respectively. Hope's eight assists are especially impressive, given that he collected them in just 16 minutes of playing time. Hope also nabbed three steals in the game.
 
Messiah will take the court in their season finale on Saturday evening when the Arcadia Knights travel to Grantham. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m. in Brubaker Auditorium.