OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Messiah men's basketball team fell short in a tightly-contested conference matchup at Stevenson University, 74-71 (OT), on Wednesday night. Despite the loss, three Falcons scored in double figures as Evan Parker (16), Arkese Claiborne (13), and Matt Glogowski (13) were the key offensive contributors.
 
Parker shot an impressive 4-5 (80%) from beyond the arc as Glogowski shot 85.7% (6-7) from the floor.
 
The opening 10 minutes of the game was a back-and-forth affair between the two sides as the Falcons held a thin one-point lead (13-12) at the 10:32 mark. Messiah drained six of its first 11 shots (54.5%) as Glogowski led the way. The graduate forward scored his game-leading tenth point at the 9:19 mark, a three-pointer to extend Messiah's lead to 18-15.
 
With 5:04 remaining in the first half and the two sides knotted up at 24-24, Tyler Penley made a stellar defensive play, taking a charge on Stevensons' Bo Wesley. The defensive play sparked immediate offense as Evan Parker drained a triple on the other end to give the Falcons a three-point edge (27-24). The Falcons earned their largest lead of the half at the 2:33 mark, a 32-27 advantage, after Parker connected on his second three-pointer of the game. Messiah maintained its five-point edge for the rest of the half until the Mustangs' Jalen Jacox nailed a jumper with just five seconds left of the period. Entering halftime, Messiah led, 35-32.
 
In the half, Glogowski was a key offensive contributor with a game-leading 10 points. Parker notched eight points as Will Young IV scored six points. Messiah shot an impressive mark of 63.6% (14-22) from the floor in the opening half.
 
The opening five minutes were low-scoring for both sides. The first bucket did not occur until the 16:23 mark when Parker connected on yet another three-pointer, his third triple of the contest to give the Falcons a 38-32.
 
Messiah kept a firm hold on the game, keeping the Mustangs at bay throughout the second half. Bryce Coletti made a great defensive play at the 10:53 mark, converting a fast break layup after jumping a passing lane for a hard-earned steal. The layup put the Falcons ahead by nine points (53-42) and was part of six-straight points from the sophomore guard during the span of 11:09-9:20.
 
Messiah continued to lead the Mustangs by nine points with 8:45 remaining following a made free throw from Young before Stevenson began clawing its way back in the contest. The Mustangs went on a 6-0 run to trim their deficit to just three points (56-53) with 6:23 left on the clock. Young broke the scoring run with a layup at the 5:42 mark, the graduate forward's ninth point of the contest. Following consecutive buckets from Arkese Claiborne, the Falcons owned a here-point advantage, 62-59, with only 2:37 remaining. That lead was trimmed to two points, 63-61, and eventually zero points after a Wesley made layup leveled the score with 59 ticks left in regulation. Both sides remained scoreless as the Mustangs came up empty-handed in the final possession of regulation as the two conference foes headed to overtime knotted up at 63-63.
 
The Mustangs outscored Messiah in the overtime period, 11-8, to claim the 74-71 decision. The Falcons never held a lead throughout overtime as Stevenson jumped out to a 69-63 lead behind a commanding 6-0 scoring spurt. Messiah was unable to mount a comeback, dropping its overall record to 4-7 (3-3 MAC Commonwealth) on the season.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah returns home to take on Widener University this Sunday, Jan. 16, at 6:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.