LANGHORNE, Pa. - After trailing for much of the game, Messiah men's basketball came back and took a four-point lead with 2:55 left, but Cairn University answered with a 8-2 run to close the game and knock off the Falcons 80-78.
 
Colin Sareyka led all scorers in the game with 29 points, including a considerable improvement from the free throw line as the sophomore went 6-of-6 to raise his season percentage from 46% to 56%. In the Falcons' four games so far this season, Sareyka is averaging a team-high 21 points per game and nearly five assists per game. Neil Murren and Matt Hess were also in double figures for the Falcons in tonight's contest, with 15 and 11, respectively. Malachi Hall led Cairn with 18 points, while three other Highlanders had at least 12.
 
Hot Start
After Cairn gained possession from the opening tip and failed to score, Messiah got on the board first thanks to a driving layup from Sareyka. On the Falcon's next possession, Matt Hess hit a transition trey to give Messiah a 5-0 lead less than 90 seconds into the game.
 
Highlanders Score in Bunches
Cairn would go on two significant runs early in the first-half, starting with a 7-0 spurt to take a two-point lead. After back-to-back layups by Sareyka tipped the lead back to the Falcons, the Highlanders scored eight unanswered to cause Messiah to call a timeout down 15-9 at the 13:06 mark.
 
Messiah and Cairn went back-and-forth over the next seven minutes, as the Highlander lead was five, 29-24, with just over six minutes to play in the first-half. The lead would grow to a game-high eight points before Neil Murren drained a wide-open triple from straightaway to stop the Highlander momentum. Murren would knock down another three just before halftime, cutting Cairn's advantage to just two, 42-40, going into the break.
 
Another Strong Start
Messiah took their first lead of the game since the 14:06 mark of the first-half as Nate Eberle hit back-to-back layups to open the second period. The second was started by a beautiful move by Sareyka, as he crossed up his defender and drove towards the basket, drawing Eberle's defender towards him before slotting a perfect bounce pass to Eberle on the left post.
 
Neither team would lead by more than four until Malachi Hall made a layup to put the Highlanders up by six, 66-60, with 8:30 to play in regulation. Over the next four minutes, though, the Falcons would explode for a 14-4 run highlighted by a deep triple from Eberle, a beautiful up and under layup around two defenders from Sareyka, and an and-one from Murren. After a Highlander jumper cut Messiah's lead in half, another Sareyka layup brought the Falcon advantage back up to four at 76-72 with 2:55 to play.
 
Highlanders Find a Way
Thanks to turnovers and missed shots by Messiah, Cairn was able to end the game on an 8-2 run, as the Falcons' only points over that final stretch were a pair of Sareyka free throws with just four seconds remaining in the game that cut the deficit to one. Hall would gather the ensuing inbounds pass for the Highlanders and get fouled immediately before making one of two from the line to make it 80-78 with three seconds left. Sareyka's heave from midcourt was off-line, and Cairn picked up their first win of the season.
 
Next Up
The Falcons fall to 2-2 on the year, and now look to get back in the winning column as they host the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg campus on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in Hitchcock Arena.