GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's basketball team battled their way out of two late holes, but were unable to cap off the comeback, falling to the Stevenson Mustangs 86-84 in overtime on Wednesday night.
 
Messiah trailed 68-58 with less than five minutes remaining in regulation before finishing the second-half on a 12-2 run to force overtime. In the extra period, the Falcons once again fell into a sizable hole at 83-76 with 1:39 remaining in the period. Just as they did at the end of regulation, the Falcons rallied late with EJ Porter burying back-to-back threes in the final minute of overtime to pull Messiah within one at 85-84. After the Mustangs missed both free throws on the other end of the floor, Messiah had an empty possession with an opportunity to win the game. Stevenson then made a free throw to push the lead to two at 86-84, giving the Falcons a final look at the buzzer for the win. Messiah's last second heave was off the mark and the Mustangs held on for the two-point victory.
 
Matt Glogowski led all scorers with 24 points on a 10-16 effort from the floor. The sophomore forward also grabbed 15 rebounds for an impressive double-double. Colin Sareyka and EJ Porter joined Glogowski in double-figures with 19 and 16 points, respectively.
 
Messiah will head to Arcadia on Saturday for their next conference game against the Knights at 3:00 p.m.

Quick Start
Messiah used layups from Josh Darville and Colin Sarekya along with a dunk and two free throws from EJ Porter to take an 8-3 lead less than three minutes into Wednesday's contest. Messiah's hot start forced the Mustangs to take an early timeout.

Stevenson Takes Control
The Mustangs quickly turned the 8-3 Messiah lead into a 14-10 advantage of their own with a pair of threes from Cam Harris and a triple from Montaque Wright. Despite Messiah tying the game at 16-16 following a Darville layup, the Mustangs held control for the remainder of the half, ballooning their lead to as many as 12 points at 38-26 late in the period.

The Mustangs carried a 40-31 advantage into the break and continued to sit in the driver's seat for the majority of the second-half. Stevenson's lead held firm between 6-10 points for the first 15 minutes of the half, creeping to 11 points on two occasions at 48-37 and later at 57-46.

Battling Back
With four minutes remaining in regulation the Falcons trailed 68-58, but Cam Carter sparked the comeback with a jumper assisted by Sareyka. Messiah immediately called a timeout following the bucket and drew up their plans for a comeback. Including Carter's bucket, Messiah went on a 12-2 run to close out regulation and force overtime with the score tied 70-70. Down the stretch, the Falcons went 4-4 from the floor including buckets from Darville and Sareyka as well as a key three from Porter with three minutes remaining that made it a three-point game at 68-65.

Sareyka also got to the line four times in the final four minutes, making three attempts from the stripe.

Overtime
Despite the Falcons' strong push down the stretch, it was the Mustangs that jumped out quick to start overtime. Stevenson's Marcus Dentley drained a three on the opening possession of overtime, but Messiah's leading scorer on the night, Matt Glogowski got all three points back with an and-one layup less than a minute later.

After Glogowski tied the game up at 73-73, the Mustangs the next six points to take a 79-73 lead with just 2:38 remaining in the extra period. The Falcons started to claw back with another layup from Glogowski and a free throw from Sareyka to cut the deficit in half, but Stevenson responded with four-straight points to make it an 83-76 game with 1:39 left on the clock.

The margin was trimmed to four when EJ Porter knocked down another clutch three with 56 seconds remaining. After the Mustangs missed a jumper on the ensuing possession, Porter once again was there to hit a triple from the right-elbow extended.

His second-straight three pulled Messiah within one at 85-84 with just 12 seconds left. Messiah quickly fouled Montaque Wright and sent him to the line. The 76.1% free-throw shooter missed both attempts and gave Messiah the ball down by one with a chance for the win. The Falcons turned the ball over with a miscommunications and then sent Kyle Woodridge to the line. After he made the first and missed the second, Messiah had just enough time for a half-court heave that Sareyka threw up at the horn. His attempt missed right and the Falcons fell by the 86-84 final, despite two frantic comebacks in the finals minutes of regulation and overtime.

What's Up Next
The Falcons will now head to Glenside, Pa. to take on the Arcaida Knights on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The Knights have already locked up a spot in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament and head into the game a perfect, 11-0 in the conference. Messiah fell by a 67-65 final when the Knights visited Hitchcock Arena on Jan. 12.