Grantham, PA – Messiah College dropped their final regular-season game of the year on Saturday, losing 73-67 to Alvernia. The loss dropped the Falcons out of the Commonwealth playoff picture, as Lycoming and Arcadia earned victories to punch their own ticket. With Messiah's loss, Stevenson earns the No. 5 seed by way of a tiebreaker advantage with the Falcons.
 
"It's always hard to end a season," said Messiah head coach Rick Van Pelt. "You can look at different times throughout the season and say 'if only we did this, or did that' but the reality is that we're on the outside looking."
 
The big blow to Messiah's playoff chances came when Lycoming College overcame multiple deficits in regulation and overtime to stun Hood on the road in double-overtime, 97-95. The victory for the Warriors, coupled with an earlier win by Arcadia over Widener, meant that Messiah had to beat Alvernia to slide in the postseason qualifiers.
 
But those results and scenarios were unknown by Messiah during their game, as they were playing to win regardless of the playoff picture.
 
"We wanted to go out and win the game, and not worry about all the extra stuff," Van Pelt said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't hold home court and the other cards didn't fall our way."
 
At the start of the game, it looked as though Messiah was up to task of beating No. 1-seed Alvernia. The Falcons went up 9-3 behind five early points from Derek Mosley, and eventually took a 16-9 lead to force a Crusaders' timeout.
 
Zac Hoy kept the Falcons going with a three-pointer out of the timeout, and followed up that shot with a charge drawn on the ensuing defensive possession.
 
"It was a good start for us, exactly what we wanted," Van Pelt said of his team and what was an early 19-11 lead for the Falcons. "Our energy was good and we were getting good looks on the offensive end."
 
Down by eight points, Alvernia quickly fought back. They went on an 11-2 run and took a 22-21 lead at the 7:59 mark of the half. Six of those points came from Terrance Bridgers, with the long, athletic swingman hitting two tough step-back jumpers over his defender.
 
The Falcons and Crusaders traded baskets for the rest of the half, with a three-pointer by Lamont Clark putting Alvernia up 34-30 just before the break.
 
Messiah and Alvernia battled the entire way in the second-half, with Alvernia staying only a few points ahead until the final few minutes. A three-point play by Zac Hoy brought the Falcons to within 42-39 with exactly 15:00 to play, with two free-throws from Taylor Groff getting Messiah to within one point (46-45) a few minutes later.
 
The defining stretch of the game came with under five minutes to play, with Messiah trailing 59-56. Chris Davis hit a three-pointer from the wing to give Alvernia a six-point lead and, after a missed jumper by Brad Bolen, Davis hit another three-pointer off a high ballscreen to push their lead to nine points.
 
"Those last few minutes were a key part of the game," Van Pelt said. "Davis stepped for them and made two big three's, and that was hard for us to make up. Credit to them for making those shots."
 
Hoy did his best to answer his counterpart, driving to the rim for another three-point play to draw Messiah to 65-59 with 2:53 remaining.
 
But Davis and the Crusaders answered back. Davis drove right and hung in the air for a layup with 1:33 left, giving Alvernia a 67-59 lead that they wouldn't relent.
 
Derek Mosley, fittingly, hit the last shot of his career to complete the scoring—a three-pointer with four second remaining.
 
"We knew we could win today, so it's hard for us to realize that we're done," Van Pelt said. "Our seniors (Derek and Dan Mosley) really have put a lot of work into this program, and it's never fun to have a career come to an end. We'll miss having them on the court."

Derek Mosley finished with 14 points on five of 11 shooting. Hoy led the Falcons with 23 points, shooting eight of 10 from the field and six of six from the free-throw line. Groff aded 17 points.

Kahlil Bennett led Alvernia with 20 points, with Davis (15), Bridgers (13), and Brian Parker (14) joining him in double-figures.
 
The loss completes Messiah's season at 13-11, including an even 9-9 record in the Commonwealth. Their loss also means a new conference champion will be crowned in 2012-13, as the Falcons will no longer defend their title from a year ago.
 
Alvernia moves to 21-4 with the win, and 15-3 in the Commonwealth. They will enter the postseason as the No. 1 seed.