GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah men's basketball team defeated visiting Eastern University, 83-73, on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena on Saturday evening. Tyler Penley led the way for the Falcons, scoring a career-high 22 points while reeling in a game-high 13 rebounds, including a momentous late-game three-pointer to separate Messiah from the Eagles. Arkese Claiborne also had a phenomenal performance, tallying 17 points while posting five blocks, the sophomore guard's sixth-straight game scoring in double figures.
 
Bryce Coletti (13) and Evan Parker (11) each recorded double-digits scoring as well, with Parker connecting on three attempts from beyond the arc.
 
The victory snaps a three-game losing skid for Messiah, improving its 2021-22 overall record to 5-9 (4-5 MAC Commonwealth).
 
Bryce Coletti got the Falcons going early in the first half, scoring the first bucket of the game at the 18:29 mark. Coletti was fouled on the driving layup attempt, converting the free throw attempt to give Messiah an early 3-0 lead. Claiborne proceeded to score on consecutive possessions, draining a triple and nailing a jumper on the following possession to increase the Messiah lead to 8-4 at the 17:05 mark.
 
Jack Ramsey went on to score buckets in consecutive trips, notching a layup and hitting a jumper at the 14:34 and 13:54 marks. The Falcons kept the Eagles at Bay, increasing the advantage to six points (19-13) when Dylan Cuperus contributed a made layup with 10:37 left in the half.
 
Following a 10-4 Eastern scoring run, the Eagles tied the score at 23-23 with just over eight minutes (8:14) remaining in the first half of play. The Eagles continued to pour it on, scoring seven of the game's next nine points to take a 30-25 advantage. Following a Messiah timeout, the Falcons rattled off five-straight points to level the score, 30-30, behind a Claiborne jumper and a triple from Evan Parker.
 
The Falcons regained the lead, 32-30, following a steal from Caleb Light, who finished the fast break layup on the other end. Trailing by five points at the 5:31 mark, seven-consecutive Messiah points had the hosts ahead by a pair with only 3:30 remaining in the half.
 
In the remaining 3:30, the Falcons outscored Eastern, 6-4, to claim a 38-34 lead heading into halftime. Seven different Falcons scored during the first half, led by nine points from Claiborne. Messiah shot 54.8% from the floor (17-31), holding a lead for nearly 13 of the 20 minutes of the first half.
 
The two sides began the second half in a back-and-forth scoring affair with Eastern narrowly outscoring Messiah, 10-9, in the opening 5:07. The Falcons had four different players score points (Will Young IV, Tyler Penley, Christian Reames, Coletti) during those five minutes. Messiah led, 47-44, with 14:53 left on the clock.
 
Eastern battled back in the minutes to follow, using a 10-6 scoring run to claim a one-point edge (54-53) over the Falcons with 11:49 remaining. Messiah proceeded to reclaim its lead with the help of Penley. The senior forward scored six-straight points for the Falcons during the 11:21-7:48 span as Messiah led 61-58 with 7:48 remaining.
 
The game continued to be tight during the final seven minutes of action. Claiborne notched a clutch three-pointer at the 5:25 mark, sending Hitchcock Arena into frenzy as the Falcons claimed a four-point, 66-62 edge. The triple was Claiborne's second of the game, upping his points total to 16 as the Eagles burned a timeout to try and halt the momentum.
 
Despite the Eastern timeout, Messiah continued its momentum. Parker drilled a three-pointer at the 4:03 mark, opening up the Falcons' lead to 71-66. The dagger, and perhaps the shot of the game, came with just 2:17 remaining. With a four-point lead and possession of the ball, Penley stepped into an uncontested three-pointer early in the shot clock, knocking down the triple to extend the advantage to 75-68. The Eagles committed a traveling violation on the other end as Messiah called a full timeout, leading by seven points with just under two minutes to go.
 
For good measure, Parker drained his third triple of the game with 1:20 left on the clock to increase the lead to 78-69. Messiah, behind its clutch, late-game three-point shooting, cruised to the 83-73 home decision.
 
What's Next
Messiah travels to Albright College this Wednesday, Jan. 26, to take on the Lions at 7:00 p.m.