GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's basketball team suffered their first loss of the season 63-50 to Randolph-Macon in the Tip-Off Tournament Championship game.
EJ Porter led the Falcons with 16 points in the contest, making four threes in the game.
Colin Sareyka added 11 points for the Falcons in the loss, while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Porter and Sareyka were both recognized after the contest on the Tip-Off Tournament All-Tournament Team.
After the score was tied 29-29 going into the half, the Falcons struggled to get anything going in the second-half. The Yellow Jackets grabbed the momentum in the second half and never looked back. They outscored Messiah 34-21 in the second half en route to their 63-50 victory. Messiah will be back in action Wednesday night on the road at Susquehanna University, taking on the River Hawks at 8:00 p.m.
Back-And-Forth Battle In First Twenty
Randolph-Macon jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first half before Messiah began to fight back.
EJ Porter and
Nate Eberle hit three-pointers to cut the Yellow Jackets lead to 8-7. Messiah grabbed their first lead of the contest after a Porter layup made it 11-10 with 15:13 left in the half.
Both teams could not find any advantage in the half, as from this point on neither team led by more than five points in the half. That five point lead belonged to the Falcons after a Sareyka jumper made it 24-19 with 4:44 to play in the half. The Yellow Jackets would work their way back into the game, making it 27-27 with 1:29 to play in the first. Both teams knocked down a pair of free throws before the end of the half to send it to break at 29-29. The Falcons were more efficient during the half, shooting 41.67% to the Yellow Jackets 36.67%.
Yellow Jackets Find Their Groove
With Messiah holding a slim 45-43 lead with 8:04 left in regulation, Randolph-Macon made their move. The Yellow Jackets produced a game-changing 18-0 run to take a 61-45 lead with just 2:25 left to play. A pair of threes by Ian Robertson helped captain the Yellow Jackets charge. This run proved to be the difference in the game, as the Falcons did not have enough time to respond, falling 63-50.
The Yellow Jackets erupted to shoot 52% in the half to Messiah's 31.82%. Bench points and points off turnovers played a big part in the Yellow Jacket victory. Randolph-Macon scored 20 points off the bench to Messiah's eight, and scored 17 points off Falcon turnovers.
What's Up Next
With the loss, Messiah falls to 2-1 on the season. They return to the court Wednesday night when they travel to Susquehanna University for a 8:00 p.m. matchup with the River Hawks.