GRANTHAM, Pa. – Evan Parker led the Falcons with one of the more impressive Messiah basketball performances in a half in recent memory. The junior guard knocked down six three-pointers in the first half, going 6-7 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes of play and recording 22 points for the Falcons. Messiah needed every single one of those points as the Falcons held on to beat the Albright Lions 73-69 in a conference tilt in Grantham.

Parker finished with a season-high 25 points while Bryce Coletti dished out a team-high four assists in the victory.  

In the second half, Messiah forward Dylan Cuperus shined offensively, notching all 15 of his points in the decisive half. Cole Fisher was another double-digit scoring contributor (10 points), converting 5-of-6 free throws, helping the Falcons to snap a six-game conference losing skid.
 
Messiah led by nine points following an Evan Parker triple with exactly two minutes remaining, however the Lions cut the lead down to just two points at 70-68 with 34 seconds left in regulation. In the final seconds, Messiah made its free throws and held on for the four-point victory.

Parker From Downtown
The Falcons got off to a sluggish start, scoring just three points in the contest's first three minutes of action. The Lions enjoyed a comfortable 12-3 advantage before Messiah scored five unanswered points, trimming the deficit down to four points with 14:28 remaining in the half. Mitchell Qadir of Albright halted the quick scoring spurt from Messiah, nailing a jumper in transition to restore the Lions' lead to six points (14-8).

Trailing by six points, the Falcons used another 5-0 scoring run to trail by just one point following free throws form Parker, Cole, and Tyler Penley. The two sides traded blows for the next few minutes of action as Caleb Lyles connected with a three-pointer at the 9:56 mark to cut the Albright lead to 19-16.

In the final ten minutes of first-half play, Parker was lights out, drilling all four attempts from beyond the arc. The Falcons, riding the momentum of the junior guard's hot hand, entered the break with a one-point lead (37-36). The most dramatic of Parker's three-pointers was a buzzer-beating effort right before halftime. Parker caught an inbound pass from the opposite baseline following an Albright layup with just four seconds remaining, dodged a defender at the half-court line before getting his feet set from beyond the arc, sinking a triple to cap off a masterful first-half shooting performance.

Parker's 6-of-7 three-point performance cultivated loads of momentum for the Falcons, which they proved to transfer into the second half.

Cuperus Shines In Second Half
With a slim one-point advantage, Messiah and Albright traded baskets in the opening four minutes of play. Cuperus scored two field goals while Penley converted a fastbreak layup. A triple from Cole at the 14:59 mark gave Messiah it's biggest lead of the evening, a six-point edge (46-40) to separate itself from Albright.

The Falcons continued to pour it on as Cuperus connected on jumpers in consecutive possessions, building the lead to 50-42 with 13:30 left on the clock. Cuperus scored eight points in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

The Lions scratched and clawed in the final 10 minutes of play, trimming the deficit down to just two points (70-68) with only 34 ticks remaining. The Falcons held firm, efficiently breaking Albright's full-court press while notching clutch free throws to eventually sink the Lions, 73-69. Cuperus finished the half with 15 points, shooting an impressive 6-of-10 from the floor in the game.

Penley was a force on the boards in the Messiah win. The forward reeled in a team-high 11 rebounds, matching the game-high mark.
 
What's Next
The Falcons will be back in action next Saturday, Feb. 4, when they travel to Hood College to take on the Blazers at 3:00 p.m.