Grantham, PA – No. 22 Messiah College used a 13-0 second-half run to come from behind run away to an 80-65 win over rival Elizabethtown. David Fernandez scored a game-high 22 points to lead five double-figure scorers for the Falcons, with Brad Bolen adding 13 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high seven assists.
 
The Falcons shot well from the field in the first-half (11-25) but battled back-and-forth with the Blue Jays for the entire frame. Elizabethtown scored nine of the final 12 points before halftime, with two three-pointers by Tyler Simpkiss closing out the half with Elizabethtown on top 32-29.
 
The Blue Jays kept their run going after the break, going up 38-31 at the 18:12 mark. A layup by Brad Bolen soon cut the Falcons' deficit to three points, but Simpkiss' layup moments later increased their lead to 44-35—their largest lead of the game.
 
From there, Messiah started what would be a 31-9 run. Two free-throws by Fernandez and a three-pointer by Taylor Groff made it a four point game (44-40), but Elizabethtown went back up by seven on a triple by Andrew Mantz.
 
Groff (three-pointer), Fernandez (two free-throws) and Scott Bolen then combined for eight-straight points to give Messiah their first lead since 2:18 mark of the first-half. Now with under 10 minutes to play, Brad Bolen grabbed an offensive rebound and the ball soon landed with Zac Hoy in the right corner for another three-pointer to put Messiah up 51-47. A possession later Brad Bolen scored off another offensive rebound to complete a 13-0 run.
 
With the crowd still celebrating, and with Elizabethtown still seemingly stunned, the Falcons kept increasing their lead. Fernandez and Brad Bolen each scored twice in transition to push the Falcons' lead to double-digits, setting up another three-pointer from Scott Bolen that gave Messiah a 64-51 advantage with 6:22 to play.
 
With under three minutes to play Groff hit a shot from behind the arc to put Messiah up 16 points, as they went on to lead by as many as 18 points before winning 80-65.
 
Messiah capitalized on 15 Elizabethtown turnovers to the tune of a 22-7 advantage. In turn the Falcons turned the ball over a season-low 10 times.
 
The loss for Elizabethtown dropped them to 7-11 overall and 4-7 in the Commonwealth. Four players scored in double-figures, with Mantz leading the way with 16 points on 6-9 shooting. He also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Messiah's win put Saturday's last-second loss to Hood behind them, as they moved to 15-2 overall and 9-2 in the conference. Groff (15 points) and Hoy (12) combined for 27 points on 9-15 shooting while Scott Bolen scored 16 points on 6-10 shooting of his own. Bolen also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Messiah will look to build a win streak when they host Albright College on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 5:00 p.m.