ANNVILLE, PA. – The Messiah men's basketball team closed out the year with a strong first half but fell flat in the second half with a tough loss against Lebanon Valley 102-77.
 
Tyler Penley led the Falcons in points with 23 and added 12 rebounds in what was his final game as a Falcon, concluding it with yet another double-double on the year.
 
The loss ends the season for the men's basketball team.
 
Action
Lebanon Valley jumped out with a 10-2 lead early to prompt a Rick VanPelt timeout. LVC remained in front for the majority of the half as the Falcons hung around to keep it close. A Claiborne pull up jump shot put the Falcons ahead 45-44 in a high scoring first half. Things would change in the second half.
 
Lebanon Valley used a 9-2 run midway through the second half to take a 65-56 lead before Messiah called a timeout to stop the Flying Dutchmen with 11:32 to go. That lead grew to as much as 20 with five and half to go, leading 83-63. The final buzzer ended with LVC winning convincingly 102-77.
 
In the Box
Tyler Penley recorded another double-double on the year, scoring 23 points while adding 12 rebounds. As a team, after shooting at a 60% clip in the first half from the floor to generate a one-point lead, the Falcons shot 33% in the second half while proceeding to get outscored by 26.
 
End
The Falcons end the regular season with a 9-16 record and a 4-12 conference mark, which put them last in the conference. The 2023-2024 season will begin next winter.