FREDERICK, Md. - The Messiah men's basketball team fell 95-72 on the road to Hood College Wednesday night. The three-pointer proved to be the difference in this one, with the Blazers knocking down 16 treys to the Falcons nine. Messiah shot 46.3% from the field, but the Blazers slightly edged them by shooting 47.7%. Four Falcons scored in double-digits with Josh Darville tying a career-high with 22 points while adding nine rebounds. Will Young IV added 18 points for Messiah.

The Falcons will be back in action on Friday night when they host the Widener Pride on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena at 8:00 p.m.

Settling In
Both teams got out to a modest start in this one as Messiah took a timeout with 16:14 remaining in the first half with the Blazers leading 8-4. Four of these points came at the charity stripe for Hood.

This became a 13-7 lead for the Blazers as Messiah committed three early fouls to allow Hood to knock down their first six free throws they attempted.

Three-Point Parade
The Blazers run extended to 10-0 with the help of a Tyler Evans three to make it 18-7. Both teams proceeded to go on a three-point frenzy with EJ Porter knocking down two along with one from Sareyka. Hood answered with two treys of their own to make it 24-16 with 10:25 remaining in the half. Sareyka than added another one from downtown to help cut the lead to 24-19.

Hood extended their lead back out to thirteen points as both teams continued to shoot the ball well with the score at 37-24. Hood knocked down seven threes at this point in the half, with five Blazers making at least one. Messiah trailed 40-24 with 4:19 remaining in the half.

With the score 42-28, an EJ Porter three from the right wing got Messiah back to within 11 at 42-31. The Falcons ended the half on an 11-5 streak to make it 45-35 heading into halftime.
Messiah outshot Hood from the field 48% to 41.9%, but the difference came from beyond the arc as the Blazers made nine threes to Messiah's five to help build their lead.

Cutting The Deficit
A Mason Wang three from the right corner got Hood going in the second half, making the score 48-35. Six Josh Darville points helped cut the Blazer lead to just seven before Mason Wang hit another three to stretch the lead back out to ten at 53-43.

With both teams stalling for a few minutes, all Messiah had to show was a Darville free throw. Colin Sareyka then got the scoring started again with a three from way downtown to make it 53-47 and get the Falcons within six. A Darville jumper cut the lead to four at 53-49.

Hood Holds Messiah Off
However, the Blazers kept the Falcons at bay, never letting them quite get over the hump. An Evan Wang three pushed the lead back out to eight at 61-53. This lead extended to 11 after a Blazer free throw and layup made it 64-53. Messiah continued to hang around with a pair of threes making it 66-59, as the Falcons shot 52.9% from the field to this point in the half.

Not much changed over the next few minutes, as Messiah was not able to get inside of an eight point deficit and trailed 71-63 with 7:27 left in the game. This lead expanded to 76-63 and forced a Falcon timeout. Despite the Falcons strong shooting, Hood had an answer for every Messiah bucket and continued to make shots from beyond the arc.

The Blazers hot shooting from three proved to be too much for Messiah as Hood defeated the Falcons 95-72.

What's Up Next
Messiah falls to 9-12 on the season and 2-10 in the MAC Commonwealth after the setback. They will be back in action Friday night against Widener University in Grantham at 8:00 p.m.