GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Men's Basketball team hosted the first game of the Messiah Tip-Off Tournament on Friday night, falling to the Saint Joseph's Brooklyn Bears in a tightly contested overtime battle, 103-94. Saint Joseph's controlled the first half, taking an eight-point lead into the break. Messiah clawed back into the game in the second half, forcing in overtime. In overtime, the teams traded buckets early, but the Bears gained momentum in the last few minutes to leave with the victory. Caleb Lyles had a double-double for the Falcons and a team-high 23 points. Miles Longacre had 17 points, while Ben Wert added 15 points with seven rebounds.
 
Up next, the Falcons play in the Messiah Tip-Off Tournament consolation game at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15 against Salisbury University.
 
First Half
Saint Joseph's Brooklyn started the game with a 9-2 run in the first four minutes. Avery Kopcha hit a three with 15:55 left in the half to make it 9-5 and give Messiah some momentum. No points were scored for the next two minutes until Johnny McBride made a jumper to make it 9-7 with 13:46 to go. However, the Bears responded with a ten-point run, making it 22-7 with 10:04 left in the half. Ben Wert and Avery Kopcha added three-pointers on back-to-back possessions for Messiah to make it 22-13, getting the Falcons back within single digits. Over the next five minutes, Caleb Lyles added a couple buckets and Miles Longacre tacked on a three for Messiah, but the Bears lead grew back to 11 points, up to 34-23 with 5:30 left in the half. A string of seven straight free throws from Caleb Lyles made it 34-30 with 4:25 left in the half, but the Bears finished the half strong to take a 46-38 lead into the break.
 
Second Half
Myles Herbert and Ben Wert each hit early threes to cut the Bears lead to four points with 17:53 to go in the half, at 48-44. The Bears got the lead back to seven, but Ben Wert hit another three and drew a foul, converting the four-point play to get Messiah within three points, at 51-48. However, a 9-2 run from Saint Joseph's Brooklyn over the next four minutes made it 61-50 with 12:43 left to play. Miles Longacre responded with two threes for Messiah, but they couldn't cut into the lead, with the Bears still up 11 with 10:44 left in the half. Over the next three minutes, Ben Wert and Caleb Lyles each scored for Messiah, but the lead for Saint Joseph's stayed at 11 points, up 72-61 with 7:31 left to play. However, a three-pointer from Ben Wert with 7:23 left to play sparked some life into Messiah, with Myles Herbert following with a three of his own, and a basket from Caleb Lyles cutting the lead to five points, at 74-69 with 6:18 left in the half. The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes, with Johnny McBride and Miles Longacre scoring for Messiah, trailing by just three points, with the score of 78-75 in favor of the Bears. With just under three minutes remaining in the half, Caleb Lyles picked off a pass and flew down the court for a dunk, making it 78-77 with 2:45 left in the half. The teams then traded baskets, with the score at 80-79 and Saint Joseph's leading. The Bears had the ball and looked to rebuild their lead, but Myles Herbert grabbed a steal and got the ball to Johnny McBride who threw down a two-hand slam to give Messiah their first lead of the game at 81-80 with 1:45 left in the half. The teams traded baskets over the next minute, but the Bears had the lead back with :18 left in the half. The Falcons needing one more basket to extend the game, drove down the court, with Myles Herbert splitting two defenders and converting a layup to send the game to overtime.
 
Overtime
The Bears hit a couple early shots in overtime, but Messiah converted five free throws, with the score tied 92-92 with 3:09 left in the extra frame. One more free-throw would give Messiah a 93-92 lead with 2:38 left, but the offense would go cold, only scoring one more point in the extra period. Saint Joseph's would outscore the Falcons 11-1 over the last 2:30, winning 103-94.
 
Stats
Caleb Lyles had a double-double for the Falcons and a team-high 23 points. Miles Longacre had 17 points, while Ben Wert added 15 points with seven rebounds. Myles Herbert had 13 points, nine assists, and five rebounds. Johhny McBride added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Avery Kpcha added 10 points. Messiah shot 34.7 percent from the field and 29.3 percent from three. Saint Joseph's Brooklyn shot 39.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three.
 
Up Next
The Falcons play in the Messiah Tip-Off Tournament consolation game at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15 against Salisbury University.