GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's basketball team earned a 79-68 victory behind a career-high 31 points by EJ Porter. Porter was on fire from beyond the arc, shooting 8-11. He also set the Messiah men's basketball single-season three-point record with 78 threes this season.

After a quick 10-2 start for Messiah, the Warriors leveraged second-chance points to go on a 36-16 run to take their largest lead of the half at 38-26 with just over a minute remaining in the half. The Falcons countered with the final seven points of the half to trail by just five at 38-33 at the break.

Messiah pushed hard in the second-half with a 15-0 run helping the Falcons to a 46-30 advantage in the half. Messiah led by as many as 12 points late, but needed free throws in the final minute to hold on for the 11-point victory.

The Falcons will be back in action this weekend when they host the Arcadia Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Quick Start
Messiah opened with the first seven points of the game thanks to a pair of layups from Kyle Krout and Josh Darville as well as a three from Krout. After a layup from Lycoming's Tobias Walter Jr., EJ Porter knocked down a three pointer to tie Messiah's single-season record for three-pointers made while also giving Messiah their largest lead of the half at 10-2.

Second-Chance Points Fuel Warriors' Half
The next four minutes belonged to the Warriors as Lycoming went on a 14-2 run to take the lead at 16-12. The final six points of this run came on back-to-back threes from Ryan Hollins just 20 seconds apart.

EJ Porter ended the run with a record-breaking three from the top of the key. The trey was his 72nd of the season and broke the single-season record that was previously set by Neil Murran in the 2017-18 season. Porter's triple paired with a layup by Will Young IV tied the game at 17-17 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the half.

The Warriors once against went on a run to take the lead back. This time it was a 10-1 burst to take a nine-point lead at 27-18 with six minutes remaining. Like earlier, Porter halted the run with a three to pull Messiah within six at 27-21.

Over the next four minutes, Lycoming extended their lead to as many as 12 points on two occasions, including a 38-26 lead with 1:16 left in the half. All of the Warriors' first-half runs were highlighted by numerous second-chance points. Lycoming had 15 second-chance points in the first half.

Pre-Halftime Burst
Messiah used a 7-0 burst in the final minute of the opening half to take a 12-point deficit down to five at 38-33, heading into the half. Colin Sareyka highlighted the late burst with a banked in three from deep.

Falcons Battle Back
Less than three minutes after the break, Lycoming built their lead back to as many as 11 at 48-37. The Falcons clawed their way to within five with a 9-3 run. After a pair of Lycoming free throws, the Warriors led 53-46 with 13:30 remaining in regulation. Messiah proceeded to go on a 15-0 run over the next seven minutes to take a 61-53 lead with 6:39 remaining in regulation.

Porter led the run with a pair of threes while Sareyka added five in the stretch.

The Falcons built the lead to as many as 12 points at 71-59 following a three from EJ Porter with 2:28 remaining in regulation, but had to hold on down the stretch as Lycoming scored six-straight points to make it a five-point game in the final minute.

Free throws down the stretch sealed the deal for the Falcons as Messiah held on for the 79-68 victory.

What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah snaps a six game losing streak and improves to 2-8 in the MAC Commonwealth and 9-10 overall. Messiah will be back in action on Saturday when they host the Arcadia Knights at 7:00 p.m. The Knights defeated the Falcons 71-57 back on Jan. 11 in Glenside.