IMMACULATA, Pa. - The Messiah men's basketball team earned a 69-60 victory over the Immaculata Mighty Macs on Wednesday night, using a team effort to secure the victory. Nine different Falcons found the bottom of the cup with Bryce Coletti leading the way with 15 points on the night. Coming off the bench, Graduate transfer Tim Edwards had a strong debut for the Falcons, finishing the night with 13 points while grabbing six rebounds and assisting on three buckets.
 
Tyler Penley also went for double-digits with 14 points for the Falcons, his third game this season with 10-plus points.
 
With the victory, Messiah improves to 3-1 on the young season. The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday when the host the Dickinson Red Devils in the final game of a basketball triple header that will start with the consolation and championship games of the women's basketball tip-off tournament. The men's team and the Red Devils will square off on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday evening.
 
How It Happened
After the Mighty Macs took an early 4-2 lead less than three minutes into the game, Messiah went on a 14-0 run over the next four minutes to take a commanding 16-4 lead. Tyler Penley knocked down a pair of threes during the run as the Falcons got off to their fastest start on the season.
 
A four-minute scoreless stretch for both teams followed. After the cold stretch, it was the Mighty Macs closing the gap to as few as six points with under six minutes remaining in the half. Messiah then ripped off a 12-2 run to open up a 34-18 lead with just over a minute left before the break. While Immaculata scored the final six points of the half, Messiah still took a ten-point, 34-24 lead into the half.
 
Messiah's lead hovered between seven and 12 points throughout most of the final 20 minutes. However, with 3:31 remaining in regulation, the Mighty Macs cut the Falcons' lead to just five points at 58-53 following a three. Messiah once again was up for the challenge scoring the next five points to bump the lead back to double digits at 63-53 with 1:21 remaining.
 
Down the stretch, Messiah knocked down enough of their free throws to claim the nine-point, 69-60 victory to improve to 3-1 on the season.
 
As a team, Messiah had their best shooting night of the season, going 24-45 from the floor (53.3%) along with an 8-15 mark from beyond the arc (53.3%).
 
What's Up Next
Messiah will be back in action on Saturday when they host the Dickinson Red Devils at 5:30 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.