GRANTHAM, PA. - What a game! Regulation wasn't enough to determine a winner in the second game of the Messiah Tip-Off Tournament on Friday night and neither was one additional overtime period, as the Falcons prevailed 80-77 in double overtime in a thrilling win on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.
Bryce Coletti's late game heroics proved to be the deciding factor in the game, giving the Falcons their second win of the season, as well as punching their ticket to the Championship Game slated for tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 PM. That game as well will be on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena in Grantham, Pa.
Coletti led the Falcons with 22 points on the night, with Cuperus next with 16 in the game.
First Half
After a quick bucket from Abington, the Falcons had Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena on their feet to begin the game with 14 straight points with
Dylan Cuperus leading the Falcons with eight points during the 14-0 run. The middle of the half proved to be favoring the Nittany Lions, as Penn State Abington clawed their way back into the game and found themselves down three with under five minutes to go at 16-13.
Messiah went cold from the 11 minute mark on, going 1-9 from the field during a seven minute stretch in the half (11:13-4:09) that allowed the Nittany Lions to get within one. At the half, the Falcons led 25-19. The Falcons shot 36% from the Field and went 0-8 from the three-point line.
Dylan Cuperus led the Falcons with 12 points in the half going 6-10 from the field, with
Caleb Lyles next in line with five points.
Second Half
Messiah held a lead of 30-26 early in the second half before Abington went on a 9-0 run to take a 35-30 lead to prompt a
Rick VanPelt timeout. The Nittany Lions would open up a 42-31 advantage thanks to five straight points from Isaac Kennon before VanPelt called another timeout. For the first nine minutes of the half, the Falcons were cold again, shooting 1-10 from the field. At the 5:49 mark, Messiah trailed 47-41 as Abington took a timeout.
The Falcons rallied to within two thanks to a Coletti three and a Claiborne euro step layup to make the game 52-50 Penn State Abington with under two minutes to go. A
Tyler Penley put back after a missed free throw tied the game at 52 at 1:44. Two free throws from Abington made it a 54-52 game as the game went under the minute mark. A tip-in layup from Kennon made it a four point game in favor of the Nittany Lions. Coletti knocked down two free throws to cut the deficit back to two and then poked the ball free from Randolph to force the turnover to give the Falcons a chance to tie the game if not go for the game-winner. Coletti collected the ball after the timeout and drove into the lane and drew a foul and was sent to the line. After knocking down the first one, Abington called a timeout to ice the man. Coletti responded by making that one as well tying the game at 56. Abington ran down the floor and forced up a three that did not go down, sending the game to overtime.
Overtime
The Nittany Lions opened up the scoring in overtime with a three by Kennon. The Falcons were able to gain the lead just under the two minute mark going up 64-63 thanks to a
Caleb Lyles layup. Abington would call a timeout at the 1:17 time stamp still trialing by one. Abington would regain the lead on a driving layup by Darrion Harris who also converted his and-one attempt making the game 66-64 Abington. A Falcon turnover put the ball back in the hands of the Nittany Lions and Brian Randolph made both free throw attempts creating a four point lead for Penn State.
Bryce Coletti drove down the floor and made a driving layup to cut the deficit back to at 68-66. Darrion Harris made both free throws as the Falcons rushed down the floor. Coletti found Lyles in the corner who knocked down a three pointer and drew contact to send him to the line with a chance to tie the game. Lyles made it and tied the game at 70. A Penn State turnover put the ball back in the Falcons hands with eight seconds to go. The Falcons subsequently turned the ball back over as the ball bounced off Coletti's foot and out of bounds. Another last ditch attempt came at the hands of Abington at the buzzer sounded and the ball slammed off the backboard and was no where close to the rim. The game was headed for another overtime.Â
Second Overtime
Once again, the Nittany Lions opened up the overtime with a three, courtesy of Brian Randolph this time. A couple plays later,
Evan Parker answered with a three of his own, making the game 75-73 in favor of Penn State. A Cuperus hook shot tied the game at 75 with two and half to go. With under a minute to go, a
Bryce Coletti three gave the Falcons a one point lead at 78-77. Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena was shaking. An Abington turnover gave Coletti two more looks at the stripe as he nailed both of them giving the Falcons an 80-77 lead with under 20 seconds to go. Abington had one last chance to tie the game but could not as the Falcons prevailed 80-77 to get their second win of the year.
Stats
As mentioned,
Bryce Coletti led the Falcons with 22 points on the night and propelled the Falcons down the stretch. Cuperus and Penley each had a double double, with Cuperus ending the night with 16 and 10 and Penley finishing with 10 and 13 boards. In the entire game, the Falcons shot 45% from the field and 30% from three.
Next
The Falcons are 2-0 and will play Catholic in the Messiah Tip-Off Tournament Championship tomorrow at 3:00 PM on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.