ANNVILLE, Pa. – Looking for a win to lock up the No. 3 seed in next week's MAC Commonwealth Tournament, Messiah men's basketball fell just short on the road at Lebanon Valley in a 72-69 loss. The defeat, coupled with additional results from around the conference, solidified Messiah as the No. 4 seed for Monday's quarterfinal game against No. 5 Arcadia.

The quarterfinal game will be hosted by Messiah at 7:00 p.m.
 
To The Finish
In a game that included 10 lead changes, and also in which no team lead by more than nine points, the Falcons and Dutchmen played the final 2:39 separated by just a single possession. Colin Sareyka's three-pointer at that point brought Messiah to within 67-66 and, after a free-throw put Lebanon Valley up by two points with 1:20 left, Messiah found some fortune to take the lead. The advantage came after Josh Darville went one-on-one with Andy Orr on the right side, with Orr blocking Darville's shot near the block. But the ball came right back to Darville, and he kicked a pass to Matt Hess at the top of the key.
 
Hess caught with a defender closing, and his long shot attempt went off the backboard and through for a 69-68 lead.
 
Unfortunately, that was Messiah's final lead of the game, as Sam Light curled off a downscreen for a 15-foot jumper on the next possession. With 40 seconds to play, Messiah chose not to call timeout, and executed in the half-court. The play led to Sareyka taking a contested jumper on the right side, and Messiah was forced to foul.
 
Orr made one of two shots from the line, but Messiah then turned it over on their next possession. This time, Light was fouled and sent to the line and, like Orr before him, split the pair. Now trailing by three points, but still a shot away from forcing overtime, Messiah couldn't get off a shot in the full-court as the buzzer sounded.
 
Climbing Back
Messiah trailed by nine points, 52-43, with 14:39 left, but they rolled off a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to take their first lead of the second-half. The lead was gained on a three from Neil Murren, with his shot from beyond the arc pushing his season total to 70 three-pointers, good for the most in a single season in program history. He had entered the game tied with Derek Mosley '13 with 66 made threes.
 
Lebanon Valley responded to take the lead, but they led by no more than four points before Hess banked in his three to grab the lead back.
 
In the Box
Colin Sareyka led Messiah with 22 points on 7-17 shooting, and Murren added 14 points and six rebounds. Both Matt Hess and Josh Darville scored 11 points, with Darville collecting his fifth double-double of the season by way of a season-high 17 rebounds.
 
The Dutchmen were led Sam Light's game-high 30 points. He shot 10-18 from the field, including 3-4 from the three-point line and 7-8 from the free-throw line. Andy Orr added 16 points and five blocks, and Caleb Barwin scored 11 points. Barwin, like Light, hit three of the team's eight three-pointers.
 
Playoff Picture
Messiah will now have 48 hours to prepare for Arcadia in the quarterfinal. The Falcons beat the Knights in both regular-season games, scoring 77 points in each contest.
 
This marks Messiah's first appearance in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament since 2014.