OWINGS MILL, MD – The Messiah Men's basketball team escapes Owings Mill with a 85-83 victory despite surrendering a 23 point lead against the Stevenson Mustangs. Dominating the entirety of the first half the Falcons were victim of a cold spout as the Mustangs came roaring back to make things interesting with a minute left in regulation. However, free throws and big defensive stops propelled the Falcons to victory. Bryce Coletti and Cam Koscinski led the team with 18 points each. Koscinski shot 5-7 from downtown with six rebounds. Coletti also led the team with seven assists in the win.
 
The Falcons will host their final game of the season against Eastern University Saturday, Feb 17.
 
Dominating First Half
The Falcons came out the gate firing on all cylinders, shooting 5-6 from the field including six quick points from Coletti, and baskets from Caleb Thompson and Caleb Lyles to take a11-5 lead through the first four minutes of action. The Falcons would remain steady through the next six minutes of play getting contributions from Cole Fisher, Johnny McBride, Evan Parker, and Coletti as they extended their lead to 27-19. Following a Mustang jumper the Falcons would go on a 15-8 run to take a 42-27 lead with under five minutes remaining in the half. Messiah would finish the half strong, holding a 52-37 advantage heading into the half.
 
A Tale of Two Halves
The Falcons opened the second half going on a 15-9 run extending their lead to as large as 19, 67-46 through the first five minutes. Messiah hit three threes from Koscinski, Fisher, and Lyles during the run continuing their hot shooting on the night. The Mustangs began to find some rhythm on the offensive end but could not stop what the Falcons had to offer, as a Coletti floater extended the lead to 77-59 with 7:03 left in the game. However, that is when the tables began to turn for the Falcons with Stevenson catching fire late in the half. Koscinski would sink a three pointer as time expired in the shot clock to stall the 11-4 Mustang run to make it an 82-70 lead with 3:21 remaining.  The Mustangs continued to finish strong, holding the Falcons scoreless over the next two minutes to cut the deficit to 82-80 with a minute left in the game. Koscinski and Coletti would come up big from the charity stripe knocking down in what would be the winning free throws thanks to a Marques Leon block with 3 seconds on the clock to seal the 85-83 victory on the road.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action Saturday, Feb 17^th when they host Eastern University on senior night. Tip-off is slated for 4:00p.m following the women's game.