GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah men's basketball team topped visiting Wilkes University, 84-73, in Hitchcock Arena on Saturday evening. Matt Glogowski turned in a stellar shooting performance (9-12), registering a team-high 24 points as Arkese Claiborne (15), Evan Parker (13), Bryce Coletti (11), and Tyler Penley (10) all registered double-digits scoring.
 
The Falcons used a pivotal 13-0 scoring run in the middle of the second half to build a lasting advantage in the contest. On the game, Messiah shot 61.1% (11-18) from beyond the arc.  
 
Glogowski began the contest's scoring with a pull-up jumper just 22 seconds into the game, giving the Falcons a prompt 2-0 edge. The Colonels answered with a 10-2 scoring run to jump out to a 10-4 lead. Glogowski cashed his second field goal of the contest to halt the visitor's scoring run, triple at the 16:35 mark to cut Messiah's deficit to three points (10-7). Evan Parker leveled the game on the following possession, draining a shot from beyond the arc off an inbound pass from Bryce Coletti. The sophomore guard tallied his second three-pointer of the game at the 14:09 mark to give the Falcons a 14-12 lead.
 
The three-pointers kept falling for Messiah. In the two possessions following Parker's second triple of the game, Tyler Penley and Coletti each contributed a shot from downtown. The three-pointers were part of a 15-2 scoring run that began at the 14:27 mark and ended with 11:56 remaining in the half. During the scoring run, the Falcons took a 26-14 lead, shooting 5-of-6 from the floor.
 
After Glogowski drained his second three-pointer of the game at the 9:41 mark to extend Messiah's lead to 31-21, the Colonels went on a 6-0 scoring run to bring themselves back within four points (31-27). The Falcons outscored Wilkes in the final 6:41 of the half, 15-5. Coletti tallied five points during the stretch as Will Young IV and Penley each recorded four points. Messiah was leading heading into halftime, 46-32.
 
In the half, the Falcons shot an impressive 63.6% (7-11) from beyond the arc. Glogowski led all scorers with 14 points, converting 6-of-7 field goal attempts. Additionally, Coletti and Penley each tallied eight points, combining to go a perfect 3-for-3 on three-pointers.
 
The second half began with an 11-5 Wilkes scoring run that lasted 3:44. The Colonels, shooting 3-of-4 from the floor in the scoring run, cut their deficit to eight points (51-43). Wilkes continued to chip away at its deficit, cutting in to the Messiah lead basket by basket. At the 13:18 mark, the Colones pulled within a one-point deficit, 54-53, after a pair of made free throws from Matthew Davidheiser.
 
In the span of one minute (12:57-11:57), Glogowski drained back-to-back triples to give Messiah some breathing room with a five-point lead (60-55). The three-pointers were the graduate forward's third and fourth triples of the contest. Glogowski's second triple sparked a commanding 13-0 scoring run from the Falcons, spanning from 12:22-9:20. The scoring run increased Messiah's lead to 70-55 behind five different offensive contributors.
 
The Falcons weathered a 15-5 Colonels' scoring run as the integral 13-0 scoring spurt proved to be decisive. Messiah held off Wilkes, 84-73, to improve to 2-3 on the season.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah begins its MAC Commonwealth slate this Tuesday, Nov. 23, hosting Albright College in Hitchcock Arena at 8:00 p.m.