GRANTHAM, Pa. – Messiah Men's Basketball began MAC Commonwealth play on Wednesday night, falling to Mustangs of Stevenson University 98-66. The teams traded the lead for most of the first half, but a late half run gave the Mustangs a double-digit lead at the break. Stevenson kept their foot on the gas the entire second half, winning comfortably. Ben Wert led the Falcons with 14 points. Michael Bischoping added 10 points, and Caleb Lyles had nine points.
 
Up next, the Falcons travel to Chester, Pa. to take on the Widener University Pride on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 3:00 p.m.
 
First Half
Caleb Lyles scored the first bucket of the game, but a 6-0 run gave the Mustangs a quick 6-2 lead. Over the next few minutes, Michael Bischoping and Myles Herbert both hit threes, and Bischoping added another bucket, with the Mustangs leading 11-10 and 16:12 to play in the half. The Falcons kept the score close, grabbing their first lead after a Ben Wert three pointer to make it 15-13 with 13:55 to play. Johnny McBride, Paul Coty IV, and Avery Kopcha all added buckets as Messiah maintained the lead, up 22-17 with 10:28 remaining in the half. Ben Wert hit another three, but the Mustangs got back into the game, tying the score 24-24 with 8:28 left in the half. McBride converted two free throws to give the Falcons the lead back, but Stevenson took over with a 12-0 run to take a 36-26 lead. Myles Herbert scored in the paint to stop the run and Ben Wert scored for Messiah, but the Mustangs lead stayed at double digits. Messiah hit a few free throws to close out the half, but Stevenson took at 49-37 lead into the break.
 
Second Half
Stevenson outscored Messiah 13-5 in the first five minutes of the half, with Ben Wert having all five points for the Falcons. Caleb Lyles, Johnny McBride, and Miles Longacre all added buckets over the next few minutes, but the Mustangs lead grew to over 20 points, up 69-48 with 11:42 left in the game. Avery Kopcha scored off a nice move in the paint with just under 11 minutes to play, but the Mustangs continued to push on offense, up 87-54 with 6:09 to play. Declan Hersh, Quint Fryer, and Jack Rushe all added buckets in the final minutes, but Stevenson saw out the 98-66 win.
 
Stats
Ben Wert led the Falcons with 14 points. Michael Bischoping added 10 points, and Caleb Lyles had nine points. Johnny McBride had eight points and six rebounds. Myles Herbert added seven points.
 
Up Next
The Falcons travel to Chester, Pa. to take on the Widener University Pride on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 3:00 p.m.