GRANTHAM, Pa. - Messiah men's basketball struggled mightily out of the gates against No. 9 Lycoming College on Wednesday evening, missing their first 12 shots from beyond the arc, and could not recover as they fell to the Warriors 68-57.

Lycoming improves to 9-1 in the MAC Commonwealth and 18-1 overall, while the Falcons fall to 5-4 in the conference and 11-7 on the year.

Messiah was able to make it a game for a stretch in the second-half, as the three-pointers finally began to fall and the Falcons scored 14 unanswered points to cut a 21-point deficit to just seven with 11:36 to play in the game. However, the Warriors would counter with an 8-0 run of their own and never lead by less than seven the rest of the way.

Neil Murren led the Falcons with 18 points and nearly had a double-double, pulling down nine boards. Josh Darville had yet another 10-rebound game, while Colin Sareyka added 14 points and eight assists, but also turned the ball over eight times.

Messiah shot 44 three-pointers in the game, making 11 (25%), and only took 14 total attempts from inside the arc. In the two games against Lycoming this season, Messiah has taken 74 triples and made just 15 (20.3%).
 
Ice-Cold From Deep
As mentioned, the Falcons' first 12 attempts from behind the three-point line went off-line as they could not buy a triple. It was not until the 9:45 mark of the opening period that Murren was finally able to find the bottom of the net from deep. Amazingly, with that bucket Messiah only trailed by two, 11-9, as Lycoming was experiencing offensive woes of their own in the form of turnovers, committing nine in those first ten minutes.
 
However, the Warriors were able to settle into a bit of an offensive rhythm before the break, extending their lead to 12, 30-18, at the end of the half. Messiah ended the opening period with a three-point percentage of just 13%, only making three out of an attempted 23 triples.
 
Valiant Effort
Lycoming's momentum carried over to the start of the second-half, as they went on a 13-3 run over the first four minutes of the period. However, Messiah did not lay down and give up, as after a Warrior triple gave Lycoming a 48-27 advantage with 14:09 remaining, the Falcons clawed back with 14 unanswered points to cut the deficit to just seven. During that stretch, the lid was finally off the rim from deep as Sareyka (2), Murren, and Matt Hess poured in four in a row to make it 48-41 in favor of the Warriors with 11:36 to play.
 
Not Quite Enough
Lycoming, showing glimpses of why they are currently the No. 9 team in the nation, was able to weather that brief Falcon storm and counter with an 8-0 run to push their lead back up to 15 with just under seven minutes left in the game. Messiah would respond with eight-straight of their own, capped by a Nate Eberle trifecta, to cut the deficit to seven once again at the 2:46 mark, but that was as close as the Falcons would get. The Warriors made free-throws down the stretch, and Messiah fell cold once again as Lycoming pulled back ahead by 11, 68-57, before the final horn sounded.
 
Next Up
After having their four-game win streak snapped, the Falcons will look to bounce back this Saturday when they travel to Arcadia University for a 5:00 p.m. start.