ANNVILLE, Pa. - The Messiah men's basketball team suffered an 80-67 defeat in their season opener on Thursday night against the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen. Playing in their first game in nearly a year, Messiah was fighting from behind for a majority of the contest after the Dutchmen used an 18-4 run in the middle of the first half to take a 28-14 lead.
 
Cam Carter led all scorers with 27 points, tying his career-high from last season against these same Dutchmen on Feb. 18, 2020. EJ Porter joined Carter in double figures with 12 points.
 
Cam Action
Early on, Messiah was led by Carter as he contributed the Falcons' first 12 points of the contest. The scoring frenzy from the junior guard featured a 5-for-6 mark from the field, connecting on both three-point attempts. The Falcons and Dutchmen were knotted up at 10 just under five minutes into the contest before Lebanon Valley rode an explosive 18-4 scoring run that lasted ten minutes, leaving the Dutchmen with a 28-12 advantage over Messiah with 5:12 remaining in the first half.
               
The two sides traded blows for the final five minutes of the half, with the Falcons outscoring Lebanon Valley, 15-13, but still trailed at halftime, 41-27. Messiah shot 6-for-10 from the field in those final five minutes, highlighted by two three-pointers from Bryce Coletti in his Falcon debut. The Dutchmen put up a stellar shooting performance, draining nearly half of their field goal attempts in the half (16-33).
 
Hanging On
Messiah answered the Dutchmen's strong first half shooting with an outstanding second half shooting performance, shooting 54.17% (13-24) from the field. The Falcons had an electric start to the second half with a dunk by Porter just ten seconds into the half, his first points of the night. Messiah and Lebanon Valley were neck-and-neck throughout the opening minutes of the second half, with the Dutchmen maintaining its double-digit lead. From the 17:30 mark to 14:41, Carter contributed eight straight points for the Falcons, including a 6-for-6 shooting effort at the charity stripe.
 
Cutting the Deficit
With 8:15 remaining in the contest, a three-pointer from Porter prompted a 7-0 Messiah run. Carter tacked on another triple at the 6:46 mark, trimming the Dutchmen's lead to nine. The Falcons would cut the deficit to seven at the 4:20 when freshman guard Evan Parker connected from beyond the arc, making the score 73-66. However, in the final minutes, Lebanon Valley finished with a 9-3 run, topping the Falcons in the season opener, 80-67.
 
Notable Falcons
Porter connected on half of his three point attempts (3-6) on the night, fresh off a conference-best 99 made three-pointers during the 2019-20 campaign. Jack Ramsey, Michael Healy, Dylan Cuperus, Arkese Claiborne, Coletti, and Parker all made their Falcon debuts in the season opener. Ramsey, earning his first-career start, contributed four points while Coletti connected on both of his three-point attempts, ending the night with six points. Cuperus contributed heavily on the glass, reeling in a team-high nine rebounds.

What's Up Next
Messiah is back in action tomorrow night, February 12, against Lebanon Valley in its home opener to conclude the first conference doubleheader of the season.