Owings Mills, Md. – Late free throws gave Messiah men's basketball its first win of the 2021 campaign, a 59-58 thriller on the road against Stevenson. The victory was the Falcons' first win in 366 days (Feb. 18, 2020). Freshman guards Evan Parker and Caleb Coletti each drained free throws in the closing minutes of the contest to seal the victory for Messiah. Junior guard Cam Carter led the Falcons in scoring with 16 points, with E.J. Porter also contributing scoring in double figures (13). The junior guard shot three-of-six from beyond the arc, reeling in six rebounds.
 

Falcons' Fast Start

The hosts jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage in the opening two minutes of the contest until Carter got the Falcons on the board with a 3-pointer at the 18:00 mark, spurring an 8-0 scoring run. Junior guard Caleb Light connected from beyond the arc two possessions later to give Messiah its first lead, 6-4, before freshman forward Jack Ramsey capped off the scoring run with a layup with 16:34 remaining in the half.
 
E.J. Porter had the hot hand in the first half, hitting four-of-six from the field, including three-of-five of his 3-point attempts. The junior guard nailed shots on consecutive possessions at the 14:58 and 14:27 marks, with the latter bucket being a shot from downtown that gave the Falcons an eight-point edge, 13-5. For the rest of the first half, Messiah kept the Mustangs at bay. Freshman guard Arkese Clairborne poured in seven-straight points for the Falcons, highlighted by a shot from beyond the arc to make it a 27-17 advantage with 4:41 remaining in the half. Porter contributed two more three-pointers in the closing minutes of the half, giving Messiah a commanding 37-24 lead at the break. The Falcons shot a serviceable 41.2% from the field throughout the half.
 
 
Cool Coletti   

The Falcons and Mustangs traded blows in the opening minutes of the second half. Messiah featured three different scorers in consecutive possessions spanning from the 18:30-17:48 marks of the period, with Light, Carter, and Coletti each contributing buckets. Freshman forward Dylan Cuperus converted an and-one effort, notching a layup and the free throw at the 14:10 mark, extending the Falcons' lead, 48-34. Stevenson answered with a 5-0 scoring run, cutting its deficit to 48-39 with 12:32 remaining in the game.
 
The Mustangs clawed their way back into the contest. An 11-0 scoring run erased the Falcons' 11-point edge, with Stevenson leveling the score, 56-56, with just 2:45 remaining. Each team proceeded to have back-to-back empty possessions, before Parker earned a trip to the free throw line for two shots with 1:09 left on the clock. Parker missed the first, but connected on the second, giving Messiah a narrow one-point advantage. A missed three-pointer from the Mustangs had the Falcons back in possession, with Coletti now finding himself at the charity stripe. Coletti, in cool fashion, converted both free throw attempts, making it a 59-56 ballgame in favor of Messiah with just 25 ticks left. The Mustangs scored on a layup with 15 seconds remaining, but ultimately turned the ball over in the final possession of the game, earning the Falcons' their first victory of the season.
 
Messiah held Stevenson to just a 34.8% shooting mark from the floor throughout the game. Nine offensive rebounds gave the Falcons 14 second-chance points, complimenting a season-high 11 total steals.
 

Notable Falcons
 
Clairborne turned in a career-high scoring performance, tallying seven points, all coming in the first half. Ramsey pulled in a team-high eight rebounds, also a career-high mark. Coletti, along with his nine points, dished out three assists, also reeling in three boards. Carter, with his team-leading scoring performance, has now led the Falcons in scoring in two out of three contests to open up the season.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah (1-2) will be back in action tomorrow night in Hitchcock Arena at 7:00 p.m., hosting the Stevenson Mustangs (0-3) to close out the conference doubleheader.