WESTMINSTER, MD. – On Wednesday afternoon the Messiah men's basketball team suffered a 75-58 loss to McDaniel College on the road. Despite a strong first half from the Falcons, the Green Terror found a way to capitalize off foul trouble to get to the line 34 times and pull away late to down Messiah. The Green Terror were able to find a way to slow down the Falcons offense despite strong outings from both Christian Jackson (16) and Caleb Lyles (16).
 
Up Next: The Falcons will end their road game stint at Haverford College Wednesday, Dec. 11th at 8:00p.m.  
 
First Half
The game had a fast start as both teams traded points early on, however, following a Caleb Lyles basket, the Green Terror knocked down back-to-back baskets to take a 12-5 lead through four minutes of play. The Falcons would push back, thanks to an and-one basket from Johnny McBride and a nice Christian Jackson layup to cut the lead to 12-10. Following a quick basket exchange from both teams, another small run from McDaniel allowed them to hold a 18-12 advantage with 11 minutes remaining in the half. However, an 7-0 run from Jackson propelled the Falcons to an 20-18 lead. Over the next four minutes, Avery Kopcha, Ben Wert, and Cole fisher all provided needed offense as they held on to a 27-24 lead. Through the final three minutes, McDaniel got hot ending the half on a 10-5 run to take a 34-32 lead into the half.
 
Second Half
Through the first four minutes of play, Fisher and Lyles gave Messiah some offense. However, the Green Terror shot 3-4 from the field and extended their lead to 41-37. Following a much-needed basket from Jackson, McDaniel could not miss growing their lead to 48-39 with 13 minutes left in the game. Jackson and Lyles would knock down back-to-back baskets to cut the deficit to 48-43, but a consistent attack from the Green Terror pushed their lead back to 10 (53-43). Following a Jackson layup, McDaniel continued to have all the answers on the offensive side growing their lead to 60-45 with 7 minutes on the clock. A quick 5-0 run from the Falcons provided some late life cutting the deficit to 10 once more, but the Green Terrors presence on the offensive glass provided second chance points giving them a 65-52 lead with five minutes remaining in the game. Despite the strong effort from Lyles, Kopcha, and Jackson down the stretch, the Falcons could not overcome the deficit dropping a tough road loss to McDaniel 75-58.
 
Stats:
Christian Jackson and Caleb Lyles finished the game with 16 points each, while Jackson added seven rebounds, and four assists. Cole Fisher provided nine points and four rebounds. Johnny McBride (5), Avery Kopcha (7), Ben Wert (3), and Jordan Edwards-Saliu (2) all found the bottom of the net.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will travel to Haverford College Wednesday, Dec. 11 for an 8:00 p.m. tip off.