GLENSIDE, Pa. – Messiah men's basketball rode red-hot shooting from deep and led from start to finish for a big conference victory over Arcadia University on Saturday, defeating the Knights by a final score of 77-66.
 
The game was the exact opposite of last Wednesday's loss to Lycoming in which the Falcons missed their first 12 three-pointers and ended up shooting 25% (11-of-44), as Messiah exploded for 11 first-half triples in 20 attempts (60%). The Falcons enjoyed a 19-point lead at the break, 46-27, and made their free-throws down the stretch to hold on.
 
With the win, Messiah improves to 12-7 overall and 6-4 in the conference, overtaking Arcadia for the fourth spot in the MAC Commonwealth as the Knights are now 6-5 in the conference and 11-9 on the year. The Falcons also defeated the Knights 77-70 back in December at home, so Messiah would have the tiebreaker if necessary over Arcadia in conference tournament seeding.
 
Colin Sareyka led the Falcons with 22 points, five assists, and six steals, and Matt Hess had another great shooting night, going 5-9 from the field and 3-4 from deep for 18 points. Phil Pierfy recorded a double-double for Arcadia, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
 
Everybody Gets A Three
Hess started the game off with a bang, scoring the Falcons' first nine points on three triples to take a 9-4 lead less than four minutes into the game. Three-pointers from Matt Glogowski and Nate Eberle helped stretch the Messiah opening run to 18-6 at the 14-minute mark of the first-half.
 
The Falcon lead was cut down to nine seven minutes later before Neil Murren's two threes and another from Sareyka doubled the advantage to 18, 38-20, with six minutes remaining in the first-half. Before the half was over, Eberle would add another marker from distance for Messiah's 12th of the period. Six Falcons (Hess, Glogowski, Murren, Sareyka, Eberle, and Sam Whittle) made shots from deep in the first 20 minutes, with all but Whittle pouring in multiple treys.
 
Knight Comeback Falls Short
Messiah extended their lead to as many as 25 in the early going of the second-half, but Arcadia began to slowly chip away, cutting the advantage to just 10, 59-49, on a three from Josh Scott with 11 minutes remaining. However, the Falcons responded with an 11-3 run behind seven combined free throws from Sareyka and Josh Darville to take an 18-point lead, 70-52, with 4:47 to play.
 
Arcadia would not go away quietly, responding with a 14-3 run to make it 73-66 with 44 seconds left in regulation, but two more free throws apiece from Darville and Hess sealed the win for Messiah.
 
Next Up
The Falcons return home on Wednesday, Jan. 31 to host the Mustangs of Stevenson University. With the opening tip scheduled for 8:00 p.m., Messiah will look to avenge an 82-77 defeat at the hands of the Mustangs earlier this season in Owings Mills.