READING, Pa. – The Messiah men's basketball team fell on the road at Albright College, 80-56, on Wednesday evening. Despite the loss, Tyler Penley turned in a quality offensive performance, registering a team-high 15 points as the Falcons drained seven three-pointers in the second half. Penley finished with a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night from beyond the arc.
 
Joining Penley in double-figures scoring was Arkese Claiborne, notching 11 points behind a 5-for-10 (50.0%) shooting performance for his seventh-straight game of scoring double-digits points.
 
The Lions controlled much of the first half, shooting an impressive 52.0% (13-25) and out-rebounded the Falcons, 20-10. Albright jumped out to a 15-7 advantage in the opening 9:40 of play, shooting 7-for-12 (58.3%). Penley connected on a triple during those opening minutes as Caleb Light and Will Young IV added field goals.
 
Messiah used five different scorers in the final nine minutes of the first half, led by four points from Arkese Claiborne. Penley drained his second three-pointer of the contest at the 8:45 mark as Light, Bryce Coletti and Dylan Cuperus all contributed points.
 
Despite Penley leading Messiah in scoring with six points, Albright led at the break, 31-18.
 
The Lions continued their momentum into the second half as Isaiah Harris connected on a jumper just 18 seconds into the period to increase the advantage to 15 points (33-18). Penley answered on the opposite end with a jumper of his own, the senior forward's team-leading eighth point.
 
The two sides traded baskets during the 18:02-10:21 span as Albright narrowly outscored Messiah, 19-18. The Falcons shot well during the scoring flurry, 6-for-10 (60.0%), but were bested by the hot hands of Albright, connecting on eight of 11 attempts (72.2%). Messiah drained an impressive 5-of-7 shots from beyond the arc, including two each from Evan Parker and Coletti while Penley drained his third triple of the game. Despite the strong shooting, the Falcons still trailed, 55-38, with 10:21 remaining in the game.
 
Messiah was unable to overcome its 17-point deficit for the final 10:21 of action, dropping the road contest at Albright by a score of 80-56.
 
Coletti had a strong second-half performance, connecting on two three-pointers to finish with a total of eight points on the evening.
 
What's Next
The Falcons return to the hardwood this Saturday, Jan. 29, taking on York College (Pa.) on the road at 5:00 p.m.