GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Wednesday evening, the Messiah men's basketball team dropped their first conference game of the season to Albright College 56-50. The Falcons fought hard, both teams struggled from the field in the first half shooting 8-32 and 12-27 respectively. Despite being all knotted up at 27-27 entering in the break, a late second half push from the Lions propelled them to a victory past the Falcons, spoiling the conference home opener.
 
Up Next
The Falcons will travel to Hood College Saturday, Jan. 11th.
 
How It Happened
First Half
The Falcons were able to jump on the Lions early. Johnny McBride, Christian Jackson, and Cole Fisher had early success leading to a 12-3 lead. However, a 12-2 run from the Lions put them back in the driver's seat, with a 15-14 lead. Caleb Lyles, however, would knock down a deep three to regain the Falcons lead. Over a four-minute stretch, as both teams seesawed, a three from Cameron Thompson gave Messiah the 25-22 advantage with 6:12 to play in the half.  Following a Caleb Lyles Layup, the Lions would score the final five points to tie the game up at 27-27 to close out the half all squared up.
 
Second Half
To begin the second half, the Lions were able to attack early, despite points from McBride and Lyles, an 8-5 gave Albright the 35-32 advantage through the first five minutes of action. Messiahs' offense would capitalize off a couple Lion fouls to get to the line three times over a span of four minutes, tying it up at 39-39 after two Lyles free throws. Following a couple of point exchanges from both squads, a 10-0 run from the Lions forced a Falcon timeout trailing 53-44. From that point on, despite four minutes of time on the clock, the Falcons could not mustard up a late run to force a comeback, dropping their conference opener 56-50.
 
Stats
Caleb Lyles led the team with 15 points and seven rebounds. Johnny McBride picked up 11 points, with a team high five assists. While Jordan Edwards-Saliu controlled the boards with eight rebounds.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will travel to Hood College, for a 3:00pm match with the Blazers Saturday, Jan. 11th.