READING, Pa. – In a back and forth battle, the Falcons fell to the Lions 77-69. Colin Sareyka (26) and Matt Glogowski (22) highlighted the Falcons performance, combining for over half the team's points. Glogowski shot 72.7% from the field, making eight of his 11 attempts. The Falcons shot 42.6% from the field but just 29.6% from beyond the arc. Messiah struggled to maintain possession of the ball as they had 19 turnovers on the night. The Falcons are now 6-6 on the season an 3-2 in the conference and will take on Cairn University on Jan. 2 at 7:00 p.m.
 
From Start To Finish
The opening 10 minutes of the game were host to fast play from both teams, but the Lions held the advantage using heavy offensive pressure to take a 17-11 lead. Colin Sareyka kept the Falcons close however, earning eight of the team's points.
 
Matt Glogowski and Colin Sareyka worked with each other with just over eight minutes in the first half to close the gap on the Lions. Glogowski sank a contested layup that was followed by a Sareyka steal and fast break, leading to an easy two points. After that, Glogowski put in a three pointer to bring the Falcons within one.
 
The Lions answered back with a deep two-point shot but EJ Porter dropped a three-pointer from the top of the circle to tie things up. Moments later, Matt Glogowski came through with a three of his own to give the Falcons their first lead of the game. The Falcons charge forced the Lions to take their first timeout of the game with the score set at 24-21. Out of the Lions' timeout, Albright earned three points but still trailed as the Falcons worked their way to a 28-24 lead.
 
With two minutes to play in the first half, Colin Sareyka drove through the paint to earn two points but the Lions answered back with a deep three from the corner. Sareyka answered right back with another two-point play in the paint, giving the Falcons a 32-27 lead. Matt Glogowski kept things going for Messiah with a hard layup to give the Falcons a 34-27 lead that would hold for the rest of the half.
 
The second half started with layups from EJ Porter and Colin Sareyka to give the Falcons a 38-27 lead. The scoring would continue for the Falcons Sareyka dropped another two points which was followed up by a three-pointer from Matt Glogowski to expand the Falcons' lead to 43-36. A three-pointer from Albright would bring them within four points but Matt Glogowski continued to score for Messiah, giving them a 45-39 lead.
 
With 13:11 to play, the Lions pulled within three of the Falcons with a deep three, setting the score at 45-42 in favor of Messiah. Moments later, the Lions had another opportunity from deep to tie things up but missed the shot. A minute after, the Lions collected their own rebound and put in an easy layup to draw within one of the Falcons. Will Young IV pushed the Falcons lead back to three after going to the line and sinking his two free throws. 
 
With the pace of the game speeding up, the Lions regained the lead with a three-pointer from the corner that forced the Falcons to call a timeout. 
 
Out of the timeout, the Lions extended their lead with another three-point shot, setting the score at 52-47 in favor of Albright. Moments later, Nate Eberle fought hard to the rim to get two points for the Falcons but Albright answered back with two of their own. Following that play, EJ Porter pulled up beyond the arc for three but Albright had an answer again, dropping a three of their own, putting the Falcons down by five with the score set at 57-52 with 7:32 to play. 
 
After a back and forth shooting battle, the Falcons called a timeout, trailing 61-57. Right out of the break, EJ Porter sank a three-pointer to put Messiah within one with under five minutes to play. A three-point play from the Lions pushed their lead further with the score set at 64-60. With the Lions continuing to pull away, Messiah was forced to take another timeout, trailing 69-60. 
 
With under two minutes to play, both teams sank free throws to set the score at 72-62. After a handful of shots from the Falcons, Matt Glogowski tipped in a layup to make it 72-64 with under a minute to play. 
 
In the closing minute of the second half, the Falcons repeatedly sent the Lions to the free throw line as they tried to mount a late comeback. EJ Porter was able to sink a three-pointer with 11 seconds to play, setting the score at 75-69 in favor of the Lions. Closing out the game, the Lions secured the game with two more free throws to make the final score 77-69.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons are back in Grantham to start the new year on Jan. 2 to take on Cairn University at 7:00 p.m.