Winchester, VA – On Friday evening, the Messiah men's basketball team lost to the Hornets of Shenandoah University 80-48. The Falcons first half offensive drought allowed the Hornets to expand their lead to 19-2. From that point on, the Hornets held full control of the game.
Christian Jackson,
Caleb Lyles, and
Cole Fisher strung together a couple of points to bring the score to 27-10. However, the Hornets would close out the half holding Messiah to just 18 points, leading 40-18. To begin the second half, the Falcons found some offensive success thanks to Jackson, Lyles, and Herbst. However, no matter the offensive strides, Shenandoah never took their foot off the gas leading 59-35 at the 10 minutes point.
Avery Kopcha would sink some threes throughout the final stretch of the game, but it was never enough to mount a comeback losing 80-48.
Up Next
The Falcons will travel to Elizabethtown Saturday, Nov. 16 for a 4:00p.m tip off.
How It Happened
Half One
Caleb Lyles was able to knock down a floater to get things going for the Falcons. However, following that basket, Messiah would go scoreless for the next five minutes. The Hornets would open up an 19-2 lead, it wouldn't be until a
Christian Jackson three that broke up the long run. Lyles hit a nice layup to make it 21-7, but Messiah's offense could not get anything going. Over the next six minutes,
Johnny McBride and
Cole Fisher would be the lone scorers as the Hornets held a 30-12 advantage. To close out the half, a 10-6 run from the Hornets extended their lead to 40-18.
Second Half
Lyles and Jackson were able to find early success for the Falcons, but the Hornets offense never slowed down increasing the gap to 51-23. Despite the Falcons going on a 12-8 run over the next five minutes, as
Avery Kopcha and
Freddy Herbst got involved in the scoring, Shenandoah still held a 59-35 lead. For the remainder of the game, the Hornets would outscore Messiah 21-15, holding the Falcons to 48 points total shooting 52 percent from the field.
Stats
Caleb Lyles led the team with 14 points shooting 6-9 from the field.
Johnny McBride added eight points with five rebounds. While
Cole Fisher added five points and five rebounds as well.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will travel to Elizabethtown Saturday, Nov. 16 looking to get into the win column.