GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's basketball team held a four-point lead early in the second-half, but a 21-0 Lebanon Valley run squashed any Falcon momentum and fueled the Dutchmen to a 91-71 victory on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. Despite holding a slim lead for a majority of the opening half, the Falcons were unable to hold on as four Dutchmen finished in double figures. EJ Porter led Messiah's scoring effort with 18 points in the contest, including a 4-7 effort from beyond the arc. Joining Porter in double figures were Cam Carter (13 points) and Caleb Light (10 points).
 
First Half Success
 
The Falcons were competitive throughout the entirety of the first period. Porter highlighted Messiah's scoring efforts in the first half of play. The Junior guard tallied Messiah's first six points of the contest, coming from back-to-back triples in the Falcon's first two possessions. Porter's second three-point field goal, coming at the 18:10 mark in the half, was the opening bucket of a 10-0 Messiah scoring surge. The scoring run left Messiah with a 13-5 advantage, its largest lead of the night, with 15:10 remaining in the half. Carter contributed all five of his first half points on a layup and three-pointer during the scoring run.
 
Porter drained his third three of the half with 8:08 remaining, giving the Falcons an 18-16 edge. For the rest of the half, the triples continued to fall for Messiah as junior guard Caleb Light and freshman guards Michael Healy and Evan Parker sunk three-point attempts. The Falcons held on to a slim 36-35 advantage going into the break.
 
Messiah turned in an outstanding shooting performance in the opening half of play. Overall, the Falcons shot 46.7% (14-30) from the field, connecting on half of their attempts from beyond the arc (8-16).
 
Dutchmen Offensive Surge
 
Carter opened the second half scoring for Messiah by cashing in the side's first two free throw attempts of the night just thirty-three seconds into the second half, and followed up with a triple in the following possession. Carter would connect on another triple with 17:29 remaining, giving Messiah a two-point advantage. Freshman forward Dylan Cuperus nailed a jumper on the following possession, making it 46-44 in favor of the Falcons.
 
From that point on, the Dutchmen rode a scoring outburst and would not look back. Lebanon Valley outscored Messiah, 49-25, for the remainder of the game. A 21-0 Dutchmen scoring run from 15:10-10:25 left Messiah trailing, 67-50. The Falcons shot five of 12 from the field in the remaining ten minutes of the contest, highlighted by a Light jumper at the 6:03 mark. The Dutchmen hung on for the remainder of the game, winning 91-71, dropping the Falcons to 0-2 on the season.

After connecting on half of their three-point attempts in the first half, the Falcons converted just three of 13 attempts in the second half. The Dutchmen also owned the paint as Lebanon Valley out rebounded Messiah 46-29 in the contest and outscored the Falcons 42-18 in the key.
 
Notable Falcons
 
Carter, fresh off a 27-point performance last night, shot a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc. Porter converted on seven of 12 attempts from the field, while freshman forward Jack Ramsey recorded a team-high seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Christian Reames dished a team-high four assists while recording a steal. Freshman guard Arkese Clairborne netted his first points in a Messiah uniform, going four of five from the free throw line. In total, nine Falcons contributed points on offense. From the field, Messiah shot 40.7% (24-59).
 
What's Up Next
 
Messiah (0-2) looks to earn its first win of the season as they host MAC Commonwealth foes Stevenson (0-2) on Thursday, February 18, at 7:00 p.m. in Hitchcock Arena.