OWINGS MILLS, Md. – In the first game of the new year, Messiah men's basketball was able to overcome a first-half shooting barrage by Stevenson University but fell just short of completing the comeback as the Mustangs took an 87-82 victory. After trailing by as many as 17 points in the first-half, the Falcons were able to tie the game at 59 apiece midway through the second period, but it would not be enough to overcome 13 Mustang three-pointers as Stevenson was able to pull away late.
 
With the loss, the Falcons fall to 2-2 in the MAC Commonwealth and 7-5 on the season. Stevenson improves to 2-3 in the conference and 10-4 overall.
 
Messiah played well on offense, led by Colin Sareyka's 22 points and nine assists. Three other Falcons were in double figures as Matt Glogowski scored a career-high 18 points, Neil Murren poured in 17 including 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc, and Nate Eberle added 12. Josh Darville continued his dominance on the glass, pulling down 16 boards and falling two points shy of a double-double.
 
Stevenson was led by Danzel Wright's game-high 28 points, as the Mustangs' star senior went 8-of-14 from the field, 5-of-10 from deep, and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Jaylin Johnson was also very strong for Stevenson, scoring 19 points and recording six rebounds and six assists.
 
Mustangs Hot Out of Gates
Stevenson shot the lights out in the opening period, as they scored 31 points in the first ten minutes, while the Falcons only managed 14. Led by Danzel Wright's three triples and 11 points, the Mustangs made seven of their first 10 three-pointers over that stretch to take the 17-point lead.
 
The Mustangs cooled off momentarily over the next few minutes, as after taking a 35-20 lead at the 8:51 mark, they missed their next five shots and Messiah went on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to five. After a smooth driving layup from Nate Eberle started the streak, Neil Murren hit back-to-back threes and Josh Darville capped the run with a pair of free throws.
 
Danzel Wright knocked down two from the charity stripe to stop the Falcon run, but a Colin Sareyka triple cut the Mustang lead down to four, the closest Messiah had been since it was 8-4 in favor of the Mustangs less than three minutes into the contest. However, Stevenson closed the half on a 12-4 run, highlighted by two more three-pointers and an emphatic put-back dunk from Keith Moody. At the break, Stevenson held a 12-point advantage, 51-39, as they poured in nine of 15 (60%) from beyond the arc.
 
Falcons Make a Run
The second-half began very similar to the first, only this time it was Messiah with the hot start. Murren drained a triple and then knocked down a jumper for a quick five points, followed by an Eberle layup and another three from Murren for a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to just two. Jaylin Johnson answered for the Mustangs with their tenth triple of the game at the 16:06 mark to end the scoreless streak, but Messiah would tie things up for the first time all game at the 13:10 mark with an Eberle driving layup.
 
Jaylin Johnson put the Mustangs back in front with a layup, but the Falcons countered right back as Sareyka found a cutting Matt Glogowski for an open dunk. After a missed layup by the Mustangs, Sareyka went coast to coast for an acrobatic, spinning layup to give Messiah their first lead of the game at 63-61.
 
Back. And. Forth.
The Mustangs would quickly tie it back up at 63 before Glogowski and Johnson each hit a triple to even the score at 66. The teams traded buckets again to make it 68-68, but a quick 5-0 run by the Mustangs brought the score to 73-68 with just over six minutes to play. Two more huge triples from Stevenson gave them a 79-74 advantage at the 3:08 mark. The Falcons were able to cut the deficit back down to two, 80-78, with 1:24 to play on a pair of free throws from Colin Sareyka, but that was as close as Messiah would come as they fell to the Mustangs by a final score of 87-82.
 
Next Up
Messiah will look to bounce back on Saturday when they continue conference play with a road game at Widener University. Opening tip is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. The Falcons will then return home for the first time in a month as they host the University of Valley Forge on Monday at 7:00 p.m.