Annville, PA - Messiah men's basketball kept pace with Lebanon Valley College over the first 15 minutes, but could not overcome red-hot shooting by the Dutchmen as they fell 82-63 on the road. LVC used a 17-2 run over the last six minutes of the first-half to build a 13 point lead at the break, 45-32, and led by as many as 22 in the second period.
 
Colin Sareyka led the Falcons with 14 points and four assists off the bench. Josh Clippinger notched 13 points and seven boards, and Neil Murren also scored in double figures with 10. LVC shot better from beyond the arc than from the field, 57.1% to 56.9%, respectively. Sam Light shot 9 of 13 from the field to lead the Dutchmen with 21 points and seven rebounds, and Andy Orr nearly had a double-double with 15 tallies and eight boards. Travis Conrad also hit four of his six attempts from deep and finished with 14 points for LVC. The Dutchmen also outpaced the Falcons on the glass, outrebounding Messiah by a wide margin of 37-24.
 
Messiah falls to 8-8 overall and 3-5 in the MAC Commonwealth, while LVC improves to 11-6 and 5-3 in the conference.
 
The Falcons began the game cold from the field as they only made one shot, a Logan Long triple, over the first five minutes to fall behind 10-3. A long two from Josh Clippinger and four quick points by Neil Murren cut the deficit to 11-9, before Colin Sareyka came off the bench and sparked a 7-0 run by himself to give Messiah a 16-14 advantage at the 11:16 mark.
 
Messiah and LVC traded buckets over the next five minutes, ending with a Murren three pointer that took the lead back for the Falcons, 30-28, with 6:29 to go in the first-half. However, the Dutchmen caught fire during the remainder of the period, going on a 17-2 run to take a 45-32 lead into the break.
 
Murren led the Falcons in scoring at halftime with nine points, and Sareyka added seven points and three assists off the bench. Messiah shot 46% (30% from deep) in the opening period compared to 60% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc for LVC. Sam Light had a fantastic first-half, making five of six shots and knocking down a pair of free throws for 13 points, as well as adding four rebounds. Fellow star Andy Orr had 10 points and five boards in the half for the Dutchmen.
 
LVC quickly built their lead to 21 just five minutes after halftime on a layup from Light that made it 58-37. An old-fashioned three-point play by Sareyka and a nifty drive and fadeway layup by Willie Hope put an end to the Dutchmen run. Around the 10 minute mark, Clippinger hit a jumper from the elbow and his fourth three-pointer of the year to cut the LVC lead to 15, 62-47.
 
A layup by Clippinger again cut the lead to 15 with six minutes to play, but it would be the closest the Falcons would get. Late triples from Nate Eberle, BJ McHenry, and Ben Kerkeslager were not enough, as Messiah fell by a score of 82-63.
 
The Falcons have a week off before traveling to Lycoming on Wednesday, Jan. 25 for an 8:00 p.m. tip-off.