GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's basketball team fell at home Wednesday evening to the Hood Blazers 78-63 in a MAC Commonwealth matchup. The Falcons had three players score in double-digits in the game, with Nate Eberle recording his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

EJ Porter led the Falcons with 21 points on seven three-pointers while Colin Sareyka added 17 points for Messiah. This loss drops Messiah to 8-7 on the season and 1-5 in the MAC Commonwealth. They will be back in action on Saturday night when they take on the Albright Lions on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena at 7:00 p.m.

Strong Shooting First Half
In front of a big crowd inside Hitchcock Arena, Colin Sareyka got the scoring started early for Messiah with a three before the Blazers settled into the game. They took an 8-5 lead about five minutes into the contest before EJ Porter gave the Falcons the lead with two threes of his own to make it 11-8 Messiah.

Neither team was able to gain the momentum throughout much of the first half. However, with Messiah holding a slim 13-11 lead, the Blazers began to make a push. They used a 12-0 run to take a 23-13 lead with 6:52 remaining in the half. The scoreless stretch was broken after Porter hit his third three of the half to make the score 23-16. Porter was on fire throughout the remainder of the half, hitting two more threes, as he helped the Falcons cut the lead to 39-32 at the break.

Porter ended the half with 15 points on five three-pointers. The Falcons went into the break shooting a solid 42.9% from the field and 41.2% from downtown. The Blazers shot 54.2% from the field while being 45.5% from beyond the arc. A big difference in the first twenty minutes came at the free throw line, as Hood picked up eight points at the line in 13 attempts while Messiah only had four attempts, making one.

Blazers Stay Hot
Hood got off to a great start on offense in the second half, taking a 15 point lead at 60-45 with 10:23 left in the game. The Blazers knocked down nine of their first 15 shots in the half, with three of them coming from the three-point line, putting Messiah in a hole.

After a good first half from downtown for the Falcons, they came out cold in the second half, only knocking down two of their first eight shots from beyond the arc. With 7:20 remaining in the game, the Falcons took a timeout with the score at 66-49 in favor of the Blazers. Messiah knocked down a few three pointers late in the game, but ultimately struggled to keep up with the Blazers hot shooting.  Hood shot 50% in the second half and 51.8% in the game while also knocking down 10 three pointers. The Blazers defeated the Falcons 78-63.

What's Up Next
The Falcons drop to 8-7 on the season and 1-5 in the MAC Commonwealth after the setback to the Blazers. They will have a quick turnaround, as they are back in action Saturday night in Grantham where they take on the visiting Albright Lions.