HONOLULU, Hawaii - Messiah men's basketball enjoyed the warmer temperatures of tropical Hawaii on Monday night, heating up from behind the three-point line in an 80-62 victory over Pacific University (Ore.) in the opening game of the Hoops in Hawaii Holiday Classic. The Falcons made 11 triples in the game, shooting 52.4% from beyond the arc.

Messiah improves to 7-3 on the year, and they hand the Pacific their first loss of the 2017-18 campaign, as the Boxers fall to 8-1. Nate Eberle tallied a game-high 16 points, leading a very balanced Falcon attack that saw seven players score at least eight points, including four in double figures. Josh Darville continued to be a dominating presence on the boards, pulling down 15 rebounds and adding ten points for his second double-double of the season. 

Pacific got out to a good start in the game, taking early leads of 5-0, 11-6, and 21-16. However five straight points on a triple and a pair of free throws from Matt Glogowski tied it up at 21, and a beautiful driving layup from Colin Sareyka gave Messiah a two-point lead with 9:56 left in the first-half. After back-and-forth action over the next four minutes, Pacific's Davis Holly hit a deep three and a jumper in the lane to put the Boxers up by three, 30-27, and the 5:51 mark. 

Rick Van Pelt then called a timeout to try to stop the momentum of what was a 9-0 run by the Boxers, and it worked in the Falcons' favor. Right out of the stoppage, Neil Murren drained a triple and Josh Darville added a bucket in the paint to put Messiah back in the lead, which they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Over the final five minutes of the opening period, the Falcons went on a 16-2 run, taking a 43-32 lead into halftime.

Messiah stifled Pacific once again in the second-half, holding the Boxers to just 30 points in the final stanza. The 62 points put on the board by Pacific was their lowest total of the season, well below their scoring average of 86.4 points per game coming into tonight's contest. The Falcon lead never dipped below nine in the second-half, extending to as much as 16 multiple times before a late barrage from the Falcon reserves pushed Messiah's advantage to 20 with just over a minute to play. That included Shane Curry's first triple of the season, which got Messiah's bench to their feet in approval.

The Falcons will look to extend their modest three-game winning streak to four when they take on the University of California-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs in their second and final game in the Aloha State. The contest will be played Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time, equating to 1:00 a.m. EST Wednesday morning, so be sure to set your alarms!