GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Men's Basketball was in action at home Saturday afternoon, falling in a tightly contested contest to the Spartans of York College, 91-82. The teams traded buckets and the lead early, but the Falcons pulled away to take an eight-point lead into the half. The Falcons started the second half well, but York began to chip away at the lead, taking their first lead since the opening minutes of the game with under five minutes to play. The Spartans held on to win the close contest. Caleb Lyles led the Falcons with 25 points. Johnny McBride had a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds. Myles Herbert had 15 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
 
Up next, the Falcons travel to Albright College for a matchup against the Lions on Wednesday, February 4, at 7:00 p.m.
 
First Half
Ben Wert hit a pull up jumper to start the scoring, but York responded with a three to take a 3-2 lead. Caleb Lyles scored in the paint to give Messiah the lead, followed by two free throws from Johnny McBride to make it 6-3, Messiah. York hit a couple shots, but ben Wert drained a three, with the Falcons leading 9-7 and 17:26 left in the half. Messiah then went on an eight-point run over the next four minutes, with Caleb Lyles, Freddy Herbst, Johnny McBride, and Myles Herbert all scoring for the Falcons. Avery Kopcha quickly added a three pointer, with the Falcons leading 20-8. Caleb Lyles added six more points, and Johnny McBride added a bucket over the next few minutes, as the Falcons pushed their lead to 16 points, up 30-14 with 7:59 to play in the half. The Spartans started to chip away at the lead, getting the Falcons lead back to 10 points, but buckets from Johnny McBride, Myles Herbert, and Avery Kopcha pushed the lead back to 17, with the Falcons leading 40-23. The Spartans began to find their rhythm to end the half, outscoring Messiah 11-2 over the final three minutes, with the Falcons taking a 42-34 lead in the half.
 
Second Half
Johnny McBride opened the second half scoring to make it 44-34, Messiah. Caleb Lyles then scored eight of Messiah's next ten points, as the Falcons extended the lead to 11, leading 54-43 with 17:06 left to play. Over the next four minutes, Johnny McBride and Freddy Herbst both scored for the Falcons, but the Spartans began to claw back, getting the Falcons lead down to four points, at 60-56. Jordan Edwards-Saliu added a bucket for the Falcons, but the Spartans kept pushing to get within a basket, trailing 63-61 with 11:18 to play. Edwards-Saliu, Myles Herbertm, and Caleb Lyles each knocked down a pair of free throws, as the Falcons lead grew back to six points. Myles Herbert then knocked down a three to make it 73-65, Messiah, with 8:10 left to play. However, the Spartans responded with a 10-1 run to take their first lead since the first minute, leading 75-74. The teams then traded the lead a few times, with Myles Herbert scoring to give it back to Messiah, before the Spartans responded right away. Caleb Lyles then scored in the paint to make it 78-77, Messiah, but a three from the Spartans gave them the lead back, and they would hold onto in for the final three minutes. Freddy Herbst added five more points for the Falcons during the last stretch, but the Spartans held on to win 91-82.
 
Stats
Caleb Lyles led the Falcons with 25 points. Johnny McBride had a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds. Myles Herbert had 15 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Freddy Herbst added 12 points and five rebounds. Messiah shot 44.6 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from three. York shot 38.3 percent from the field and 23.4 percent from three.
 
Up Next
The Falcons travel to Albright College for a matchup against the Lions on Wednesday, February 4, at 7:00 p.m.