(Carlisle, Pa.) - The Dickinson College men's basketball team trailed for most of the game on Friday night, but a strong finish led the Devils to a 56-50 win over neighboring Messiah to advance to Saturday's championship game of the Pizza Hut Tip-Off Tournament.
Messiah opened the game with a three-pointer and led for the better part of the first half but could not pull ahead by more than five points. The Devils battled back to tie the game, 22-22, at the break. The Falcons held a three-point advantage throughout the start of second half, stretching the lead to five with 10:44 remaining.
The Devils trailed by four with 8:15 remaining before senior Matt Dolan (Chalfont, Pa./St. Joe's Regional) drained a three-pointer to trigger a final run for the Red Devils. First-year Brian Gerney (Hughesville, Pa./Hughesville) knocked down a pair of free throws to give Dickinson a 38-37 lead with 6:28 on the clock. Gerney followed the free throws with a three-pointer of his own and classmate Tucker Landy (Durham, Conn./Xavier) hit two free throws to cap a 10-0 run, putting the Devils in front, 43-37.
The Devils extended the lead to as many as eight, hitting 11-of-12 free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Dolan led the way with a double-double, recording game-highs of 16 points and 13 rebounds, while adding two steals. He went 7-for-8 from the stripe as well. Pat Kearns (Hartford, Conn./East Catholic) scored 12 points, hitting 5-of-6 free throws to go with a game-high four steals.
Gerney reached double-figures as well with 10 points, He was perfect from the line, going 5-for-5 while recording three steals. Landy chipped in with nine points, hitting 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
Josh Hartman and Chris Yoder each scored nine points to lead Messiah while Jeremiah Runkle controlled 10 rebounds.
The Red Devils improve to 1-1 on the season. They will face Nazareth College in the championship game. The Golden Flyers topped Oneonta State, 65-51, in the other first round match-up. Messiah will face Oneonta at 1:30, followed by Nazareth and Dickinson at 3:30 pm.