ANNVILLE, Pa. – On Saturday afternoon, the Messiah University men's basketball team fended off a comeback attempt from the Flying Dutchmen of Lebanon Valley College to earn the 84-80 win. The Falcons opened the game strong with a 21-4 lead. The Flying Dutchmen then took control of the game to pull within four. The Falcons responded with a 15-3 run to close the first half with a 45-29 lead. The Falcons continued to roll in the second half, until LVC went on a 17-2 run to take a four-point lead with 3:21 remaining in the game. The Falcons then went on a 10-0 run to take a six-point lead with just under a minute remaining in the game. The Flying Dutchmen continued to attempt to make a comeback, but the Falcons hit some clutch free throws to earn the 84-80 win. Caleb Lyles led the Falcons with 32 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Ben Wert totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds. Johnny McBride added 12 points and five rebounds.
 
Up next, the Falcons host the Eagles of Juniata College on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 4:00 p.m.
 
First Half
The Falcons opened the game strong with a 10-1 run to start the game. Jordan Edwards-Saliu started the run for the Falcons with a layup and Johnny McBride ended the run with three-straight points. After a three from LVC, the Falcons went on an 11-0 run to extend their lead to 21-4 with 12:30 remaining in the first half. Caleb Lyles led the Falcons during the run with seven points. The Flying Dutchmen then went on a 15-5 run to reduce the Falcons lead to seven with just under five minutes remaining in the half. Edwards-Saliu and McBride each scored a basket during the LVC run. LVC then outscored the Falcons 7-4 to pull within four with 3:30 remaining in the first half. The Falcons though closed the first half strong with a 15-3 run to close out the first half with a 45-29 lead. Avery Kopcha, Caleb Lyles and Ben Wert each drained a three during the run for the Falcons.
 
Second Half
After some back-and-forth scoring, the Flying Dutchmen went on an 8-0 run to reduce the Falcons lead to eight with 15 minutes remaining in the second. The Falcons bounced back quickly with a quick 5-0 run, a minute later, to push the Falcons lead back to 13. Caleb Lyles led the Falcons during the run with three points and Ben Wert added a basket. After LVC scored five straight points, the Falcons rattled off a 9-4 run to push their lead to 68-55 with 8:24 remaining in the second. Lyles led the Falcons with four points, Ben Wert totaled three points, and Johnny McBride added two free throws for the Falcons during the run. The Flying Dutchmen then went on a 17-2 run to take a 74-70 lead with 3:21 remaining in the game. The Falcons then responded with a 10-0 run to take a 80-74 lead with 58 seconds remaining in the game. Jordan Edwards-Saliu started the run with a layup and Johnny McBride ended the run with three-straight points. The Flying Dutchmen pulled within two in the final minute, but Edwards-Saliu and Wert each made a pair of clutch free throws to earn the 84-80 win. 
 
Stats
Caleb Lyles led the Falcons with 32 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Ben Wert totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds. Johnny McBride added 12 points and five rebounds. Jordan Edwards-Saliu totaled 11 points and seven rebounds. The Falcons shot 46 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from three. LVC shot 38.7 percent from the field and 37 percent from behind the arc. The Falcons dominated near the basket, outscoring the Flying Dutchmen 42-22 from inside the paint.
 
Next
The Falcons host the Eagles of Juniata College on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 4:00 p.m.