READING, PA. - The Messiah men's basketball team traveled to Albright College for their first conference game of the season. The Falcons came up short against the Lions 66-65 falling to 4-8 overall and 0-1 in conference play. Bryce Coletti led the Falcons with 14 points, while Johnny McBride, Caleb Thompson, and Cole Fisher all finished with 12 points.
 
The Falcons will be home for a match up against Hood College on Saturday, January 9th.
 
A Slow First Half
Neither the Falcons nor the Lions could get anything going offensively through the first 10 minutes of the first half.  The Falcons were strong on the defensive end holding the Lions to just 11 points with nine minutes remaining in the game. However, despite having six different scorers, Messiah only managed to have a 16-13 lead. Over the next three minutes both teams could only muster up a single basket each, and with just 5:20 remaining the score was 18-15. Following a a 5-3 run to give the Lions a 21-20 lead with four minutes left in the half, both teams began to find a rhythm. Despite being strong defensively for the majority of the half the Falcons would find themselves down 29-26 at the half.
 
An Offensive Second Half
The Falcons got off to a strong start to begin the second half however, the Lions also picked up where they left off and through the first three minutes of action, the score was knotted at 37-37. Cole Fisher, Johnny McBride, and Bryce Coletti got things going for Messiah early. The Falcons continued to find the bottom of the net extending their lead to 44-40 with 14 minutes left on the clock. Caleb Lyles, Caleb Thompson, and Coletti added more scoring for the Falcons, continuing to hold a four-point 54-50 lead with eight minutes remaining in the game. Following multiple baskets from Thomson, Messiah would grab their largest lead of the game 59-50. However, the Lions never went away despite the Falcons clicking offensively, Albright managed to bring the score to within one 63-62 with just 2:36 on the clock. The Lions would get to the free throw line in the final minutes to propel them to a 66-65 victory over the Falcons.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah will be back home for the first time in 2024 as they host the Hood College Blazers on Saturday, Jan 4 at 4:00 p.m.