READING, Pa. – The Messiah men's basketball team fell on the road at Alvernia University, 93-75, on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons had a dominant first half, leading the Golden Wolves at halftime, 48-37, before Alvernia shot 70.4% (19-27) from the floor in the second half to steal the victory. Despite the loss, Tyler Penley scored a career-high 26 points, as Will Young IV (15) and Evan Parker (14) recorded double-digit scoring figures as well.
 
The loss snaps the Falcons four-game winning streak, dropping their 2021-22 overall record to 9-11 (7-7 MAC Commonwealth).
 
The Falcons got off to a tremendous start in the early going, outscoring the Golden Wolves 11-3 in the opening four minutes of action. During that stretch Messiah connected on all five field goal attempts from the floor as Young tallied an impressive seven points. The Falcons continued their momentum, stretching their lead to as big as 15 points (21-6) at the 12:32 mark.
 
Penley had the hot hand in the first 10 minutes of the contest, draining all three of his field goal attempts, including two shots from beyond the arc. The senior forward contributed ten points as Messiah led Alvernia, 33-16, with 9:23 remaining in the half after a made layup from Evan Parker.
 
The Golden Wolves, facing a 17-point deficit, began to slowly chip away at Messiah's lead during the minutes to follow. The hosts went on an 8-2 scoring run to trim their deficit to 11 points (35-24).
 
Evan Parker recorded six of his 14 total first-half points in the last five minutes of the period, connecting from both attempts from beyond the arc. The Falcons went 3-of-4 from three-point land in those final five minutes as Parker ended the half with a team-leading 14 points, converting four out of five attempts from three.
 
At the half, the Falcons were in the lead, 48-37. Messiah shot an impressive 64.3% (18-28) from the floor in the first half as Penley registered 12 points behind a 3-for-4 shooting performance.
 
Penley got things going for the Falcons at the onset of the second half, scoring a layup just 18 seconds into the period to increase Messiah's lead to 50-37. In the 1:04 to follow, the Golden Wolves rattled off seven-straight points, trimming their deficit to just six points (50-44). Young halted the Alvernia scoring run, connecting on a jumper at the 17:38 mark to restore Messiah's lead to 52-44.
 
Alvernia continued to hack away at the Messiah lead, using another 7-0 scoring spurt to pull within just a three-point deficit (52-49) with 16 minutes left in the contest. The Golden Wolves kept pouring it on, eventually taking their first lead of the game since the beginning of the game at the 14:03 mark, using a made layup from Malik Green to take a 57-56 edge.
 
The Alvernia lead grew to a seven-point advantage at the 9:25 mark. The Falcons faced adversity with under 10 minutes remaining, scoring just six points since the 15:39 mark in the half.
 
The Golden Wolves did not let up, growing their advantage to a double-digit figure (74-63) after a made three-pointer with just 5:47 left on the clock. Penley notched a three-pointer at the 5:22 mark to trim the Falcons' deficit to 76-66. The Golden Wolves outscored Messiah, 8-6, in the following 2:38 of gameplay. With just under two minutes remaining, the Falcons trailed by 12 points (84-72) and were unable to overcome their deficit. After having a strong first half, Messiah was outscored in the second half by 29 points, dropping the contest, 93-75.
 
What's Next
The Falcons host Hood College this Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 8:00 p.m.