WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Messiah men's basketball struggled to get anything going offensively against No. 11 Lycoming College on Wednesday night, falling to the Warriors by a final of 55-36.
 
The Falcons shot just 14-of-63 (22.2%) from the field and 4-of-30 (13.3%) from the three-point line as they were held under 20 points in each half of tonight's contest. However, a bright spot was the offensive glass, as Messiah pulled down 13 offensive rebounds compared to seven for Lycoming. Josh Darville had six of those offensive boards, and finished with 16 total rebounds in the game. Colin Sareyka was the lone Falcon in double figures with 16 points.
 
Messiah's defense faired relatively well against one of the best offenses in the nation in the early going this season. In their previous five games, Lycoming averaged 96.8 points per game and shot over 51% from the field. Tonight though, they were held 41.8 points below their average and to 43.5% shooting (20-of-46).
 
Rough Beginnings
After a scoreless opening 90 seconds, the Falcons managed to get on the board first as Matt Hess drove down the middle of the lane and drew a double team before dishing to Josh Darville for a wide open layup. However, Messiah would not score again until the 9:37 mark in the first-half.
 
Messiah could not buy a basket and was affected by a long and active Warrior defense, as over those first ten and a half minutes, they shot just 1-of-17 from the field and turned the ball over four times. On the plus side, the Falcon defense held up quite well, holding Lycoming to just 13 points during that span, which is well below their season average considering they score nearly 100 points per game.
 
Staying In It
Nate Eberle finally ended the drought for Messiah with an open triple from the wing to cut the Lycoming lead to 13-5 with just over nine minutes to play. A minute later, Colin Sareyka blew by two defenders and jumped around a third for a beautiful layup to cut the deficit to six. However, a Damani Myers trifecta ended the small 5-0 run for the Falcons at the 6:47 mark.
 
Things picked up slightly over the final six minutes, as the Warriors went into the break with a five-point lead, 22-17. Sareyka and Kyle Krout both knocked down triples for Messiah, and Darville ended the half with a put-back off a Sareyka miss with four seconds left. In the first period, the Falcons shot just 7-of-36 (19.4%) from the field and 3-of-19 (15.8%) from deep. However, Messiah had a +3 turnover margin and outrebounded Lycoming 25-22, including 11-2 on the offensive glass. Darville had 12 boards in the period.
 
Warriors Hit the Second-Half Running
Lycoming picked up the pace right off the bat in the final period, picking off an errant Falcon pass and finishing the fast-break layup on the other end. Over the first eight minutes of the half, the Warriors outscored the Falcons 16-3 to take a 38-20 advantage.
 
Things were a bit more even over the next four minutes as Messiah outscored Lycoming 6-4 to make it 42-26 in favor of the Warriors with 8:44 to play. However, the Warriors would not let it get any closer, extending their lead to 19 before the final horn sounded to give Lycoming the 55-36 victory.
 
Next Up
Messiah will look to bounce back on Saturday when they travel to Wilkes-Barre, Pa. to take on the Wilkes University Colonels at 3:00 p.m.