GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Falcons opened their season in the TownePlace Suites Tip-Off Tournament with a 86-57 win over Clarks Summit. Messiah started with a quick 5-0 run and kept things rolling all game, shooting 43.2% (32-of-74) from the field and 40.0% (12-of-30) behind the arc. Clarks Summit struggled to maintain possession of the ball as they gave up 20 turnovers. 
 
Matt Glogowski led the way for the Falcons with seven from the field and three beyond the arc, combining for 19 points on the night. Glogowski also collected eight rebounds (4 off., 4 def.). Josh Darville put up 12 points and five rebounds, highlighted by an alley-oop, dished out from Colin Sareyka. Zach McDonough also collected 12 points on the night while grabbing seven rebounds.

From Start to Finish
The scoring started with a three-pointer from Matt Glogowski which set the tone for the rest of the game. Messiah quickly took an 8-2 lead before making a charge to take a 17-7 advantage over the Defenders. Although the Falcons started off with the advantage, Clarks Summit made a run of their own to pull back into the game, making it a four-point game with the score set at 22-18 in favor of Messiah. The Falcons responded quickly with a layup from Will Young IV and a three-pointer from EJ Porter.

From there, Messiah continued to stretch their lead, pulling ahead with jumpers from Josh Darville and Matt Glogowski to take a 42-23 lead. With halftime just four minutes away, Kyle Krout sunk a three which was followed up by a three from Will Young IV to keep the momentum going for Messiah and give them a 48-25 lead. Closing out the half, Messiah picked up a layup from Zach McDonough before collecting three points from free throws to take a 26 point lead and end the half 53-27. The Falcons collected 21 points off the bench in the first half and earned 13 points off Defenders' turnovers as well.

The start of the second half saw a three-pointer from Kyle Krout, followed by a three-pointer from Matt Glogowski a minute later to give the Falcons a 59-37 lead. The Defenders made an attempt to earn momentum with five quick points off a three-pointer and a layup on a fastbreak but Messiah battled back to hold them off. Josh Darville and EJ Porter helped start a 7-0 run for the Falcons that gave them a 37 point lead with the score set at 71-34. The Defenders quickly bounced back to cut into that lead, going on a 7-0 run of their own to draw within 30. Messiah answered right back with a jumper from Morris Taylor and a shot from Caleb Light behind the arc to take another 37 point lead in the game with the score at 81-44. Morris Taylor and Caleb Light kept things going for the Falcons, adding on another five points, setting the score at 86-45 to take a 41 point lead, their highest lead of the night. In the final minutes of the game, Clarks Summit went on a 12-0 run against the Falcons but it proved to be too little too late as Messiah earned the 86-57 win.

What's Next
The Falcons will continue play in the TownePlace Suites Top-Off Tournament on Nov. 10 at 3:00 p.m. when they take on Ursinus College, who defeated Roanoke College on the first day of the tournament.