WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - The Messiah men's basketball team jumped out to a 38-26 lead at halftime on Wednesday night against the Lycoming Warriors thanks to a massive 26-8 run in the middle of the opening half. Despite a second-half push by the Warriors that closed the gap to as few as five points, Messiah held on for a 74-63 victory to improve to 3-1 in the MAC Commonwealth on the season.
Colin Sareyka led the Falcons with his first career triple-double, finishing the night with 19 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds.
Matt Glogowski added a double-double with 11 rebounds and a game-high 22 points, marking his second-straight game with at least 20 points.
Will Young IV added 14 points of his own on the evening.
Messiah controlled the boards in the contest, grabbing 44 rebounds against just 26 by the Warriors.
Building the Lead
Messiah opening Wednesday's game with back-to-back three-pointers from
EJ Porter and
Will Young IV to give the Falcons a quick, 6-0 lead. The Warriors responded with an 8-2 run to tie the game at 8-8 just over three minutes into the contest.
A
Will Young IV jumper on the ensuing Messiah position started a 26-8 Messiah run that spanned a 12:16 stretch during the middle portion of the half. During the run, Sareyka led the way with nine points for the Falcons to help push the lead to 18 points with four minutes remaining in the half at 34-16. In addition to Sareyka's nine, four different Falcons found the bottom of the cup during the run with Young IV adding five points and Glogowski chipping in with four.
Weathering a Second-Half Push
With a 10-4 run in the final four minutes of the half, the Warriors cut the Falcons' lead down to 12 points at 38-26 heading to the half. The strong play carried over to the second-half for Lycoming, with the Warriors netting the first seven points of the half, cutting the Messiah advantage to five points just three and a half minutes into the half.
While Messiah held a lead for the entirety of the second-half, they were unable to create the separation they did in the first. Their lead stayed single-digits for a vast majority of the half, ballooning to 10 points just once until the final 90 seconds of the game.
The Falcons led by seven points at 62-55 following a layup by Lycoming's Darius Dangerfield with 2:36 remaining on the clock.
Late Free Throws Seal the Deal
With 1:09 remaining in the game, Messiah's
Zach McDonough started a free-throw train for the Falcons. Messiah iced the game by going 10-10 from the charity stripe in the next 40 seconds to push the lead up to 74-63.
During the 10-free throw stretch by the Falcons, Lycoming made a pair of layups, a free throw, and a three-pointer, but it was not enough as Messiah held on for the 11-point, 74-63 victory.
In the Box Score
As mentioned,
Matt Glogowski led all scorers with 22 points along with 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
Colin Sareyka turned in the individual performance of the day for the Falcons with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals, and a block for the first triple-double of his career. The junior guard shot 5-11 from the field, including a 2-2 mark from downtown and a 7-8 effort from the free throw line.
Will Young IV dropped 14 points in the contest and was a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line to help Messiah to an impressive, 90.5% effort from the stripe (19-21).
Messiah grabbed 44 rebounds in the victory against just 26 for the Warriors, marking the largest rebounding margin for the Falcons in a game this season at 18.
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah moves over .500 on the season with a record of 6-5 and improves to 3-1 in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will stay on the road with a game against the Albright Lions on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in Reading, Pa.