MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – The Messiah men's basketball team dropped a road decision at Penn. State Harrisburg, 68-48, on Monday night. Despite the loss, Evan Parker made lasting offensive contributions by connecting on 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc as Matt Glogowski registered his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Parker's key shooting performance left him with a team-high 12 points, making it his third-consecutive game scoring in double figures.
 
The hosts jumped out to a quick 5-0 advantage in the early going, connecting on back-to-back buckets just 1:28 into the contest. Glogowksi answered the early scoring spurt and put the Falcons on the board with a jumper at the 17:10 mark, making it a 5-2 ballgame. Young followed a minute later with the first of his two first-half field goals, a driving layup to cut Messiah's deficit to one (5-4).
 
The Lions controlled the following ten minutes of play, building a lead as big as seven points (21-14) with 8:43 left in the first half. Messiah cut into its deficit by scoring four unanswered points, highlighted by a jumper from Glogowski at the 7:46 mark to pull within three points (21-18).
 
Penn. State Harrisburg proceeded to go on a scoring run that defined the first half, an 11-3 scoring spurt that put the hosts ahead, 34-21, just before halftime. Parker drilled a three-pointer with just two seconds remaining in the half to cut the deficit to ten points (34-24). The sophomore guard connected on all three attempts from beyond the arc in the first half, leading the Falcons in scoring with nine points.
 
Glogowski and Tyler Penley each had strong first halves on the boards as each of the two forwards reeled in six rebounds. Trailing by 10 points at halftime, Messiah shot just 26.5% (9-34) from the field.
 
Glogowski began the second half scoring for Messiah, connecting on a shot from beyond the arc just 39 seconds into the period. The Lions answered with a strong 8-0 scoring run to separate themselves from the visiting Falcons, leading 43-27 with 16:04 remaining in the game. The commanding 16-point lead was comfortable for the visitors, but Messiah, over the course of the next six minutes of gameplay, slowly chipped away at its deficit. The Falcons cut the Lions' lead to just seven points with 10:52 left on the clock with the help of five different offensive contributors, highlighted by three-pointers from Glogowski and Parker.
 
Despite achieving a fighting chance for the final 11 minutes of play, the Lions fast-paced offense prevailed, finishing the game on a 21-8 scoring spurt. A timely 10-0 run separated the hosts from Messiah, building an advantage as big as 23 points with only 2:55 remaining. The Lions held on for the win, 68-48, snapping the Falcons' two-game winning streak.
 
The loss drops Messiah's overall record to 3-4 (1-0 MAC Commonwealth)
 
What's Next
The Falcons return to the floor on Saturday, Dec. 4, taking on conference foe Eastern University on the road at 3:00 p.m.