GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Men's Basketball team traveled to Marywood University on Wednesday night, falling to the Pacers 93-85. In the first half, Messiah jumped out to a double-digit lead just shy of halfway mark, but a late surge from Marywood gave them five-point lead at the half. The Pacers pushed kept a double-digit lead for most of the second half, before the Falcons closed in down the stretch. The Falcons got within four points but a late run from Marywood put the game out of reach. Ben Wert led Messiah with 29 points and adding nine boards. Caleb Lyles had 19 points, with Myles Herbert adding 13 points.
 
Up next, the Falcons are back in action on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 4:00 p.m. when they travel to Dickinson College.
 
First Half
Early baskets from Ben Wert and Caleb Lyles gave the Falcons a 4-0 lead. Lyles added another bucket and Wert hit a three and a few free throws, as the two combined for Messiah's first 12 points, leading 12-5 with 15:45 in the half. Over the next four minutes, Lyles connected from three and Johnny McBride added a couple buckets, extending the Falcon lead to 11, up 22-11 with 11:47 left in the half. The Pacers began to find their footing, outscoring the Falcons 15-2 over the next few minutes, giving Marywood their first lead of the half with 8:12 to play, up 26-24. Myles Herbert got going offensively for the Falcons over the next few minutes, scoring seven quick points, but the Pacers lead was up to seven, at 40-33. The Falcons hit some free throws to keep it close, but Marywood still led, 43-37, with 3:25 to play. Next, Ben Wert caught fire, scoring a couple baskets in the paint and adding a three-pointer to cut the Messiah deficit to one-point, down 45-44. Jordan Edwards-Saliu made a layup to close out the scoring in the half, but Marywood built the lead back up to five points, up 53-48 at the break.
 
Second Half
Johnny McBride scored the first basket of the half at the 18:53 mark to make it 53-50, Marywood, but the Falcons would go cold, not scoring a basket for over five and a half minutes. During this stretch Marywood built their lead up to 19 points, leading 69-50 with 13:46 to play. Johnny McBride hit a basket to stop the Pacers run, followed by a three from Cameron Thompson to get the Falcons back within 15 points. Ben Wert added five points over the next few minutes, as the Falcons got back within 10 points with 9:54 in the half, trailing 71-61. The Falcons kept pushing on offense, with Wert adding four more points and Johnny McBride hitting a couple free throws to make it 72-67, Marywood, with Messiah back within five points with 6:35 left. The teams began to trade baskets, with the Pacers lead still at five points with 4:29 to play. Jordan Edwards-Saliu hit two free throws to get the Marywood lead down to four, at 77-73 with 3:28 to play, but that was the closest Messiah would get. Myles Herbert, Jordan Edwards-Saliu, Caleb Lyles, and Ben Wert would all add baskets for Messiah down the stretch, but Marywood outscored the Falcons 16-12 in the final few minutes, winning 93-85.
 
Stats
Ben Wert led Messiah with 29 points and adding nine boards. Caleb Lyles had 19 points, with Myles Herbert adding 13 points. Johnny McBride had 12 points with nine boards. Jordan Edwards-Saliu had a team-high 10 rebounds and added eight points.
 
Up Next
The Falcons are back in action on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 4:00 p.m. when they travel to Dickinson College.