Grantham, PA – Down 82-79 with a chance to force a second overtime, the Falcons saw a three-pointer by junior Taylor Groff rattle off the rim at the buzzer on Friday, cementing an opening-season defeat at the hands of Keystone College. Groff's potential game-tying attempt came off a sideline inbounds play by Messiah, as Messiah found an open look—albeit from way behind the three-point line—in their final possession of a long, first night of the season.
 
The loss for Messiah ended the night on a sour note, even though they fought back from a late, 69-60 deficit to force overtime with the visiting Giants.
 
The loss drops the Falcons to 0-1 and sets them up for a 2:00 p.m. match-up with Hobart College on Saturday in the annual Homewood Suites Tip-Off Tournament.
 
Both the Falcons and Giants looked ready for season to start on Friday—at least on the offensive end. Both teams shot 7-14 from downtown through the first 20 minutes of the game, with Keystone shooting 57% overall before intermission.
 
A three-pointer from Duncan Lunsford gave the Giants a 42-39 lead just before the break, giving a little separation to two teams who traded baskets until that point.
 
In the second half, the Giants never trailed while building a 69-60 lead with 8:42 remaining. From that point forward, Messiah outscored Keystone 15-6 to tie the game at 75-75 and force overtime. The run was keyed by seven points from freshman Scott Bolen, as he would go on to finish with 19 points in his Messiah debut. His final points in that important stretch of the game were two free-throws with 1:42 left in regulation to complete the comeback.
 
Tied at 75-75, neither team managed to score before the end of regulation. Each did team did have their chances, with Keystone turning the ball over on a sideline-out-of-bounds play with just six seconds remaining. Messiah's ensuing possession ended with a perfectly executed play to set up senior Derek Mosley with a game-winning shot from the wing; however, his attempt hit off the side of the rim as time expired.
 
In the overtime period, Keystone jumped out to a quick 79-75 only to see Messiah fight back to 79-77 with just 1:33 left to play. After two free-throws from Lunsford put the Giants up 81-77 with 44 seconds remaining, Groff trimmed the deficit to 81-79 with 11 ticks left. Playing defense in the full court, Messiah was forced to foul Dan Candemeres and send him to the line for two free-throws. He would make one of the two attempts, as Messiah gathered a rebound and called timeout to set up their final look.
 
Groff's ensuing three-pointer would come from the top of the key, a long attempt that actually hit off the backboard before going halfway down and coming back out.
 
With the win, Keystone advances to play Dickinson College on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in the Tip-Off Tournament. Dickinson defeated Hobart College 71-68 earlier on Friday to advance to the weekend's championship.
 
Both Messiah and Keystone placed five players in double-figure scoring, with Groff finishing with a game-high 22 points. Bolen, Dan Mosley (13), Derek Mosley (12), and Zac Hoy (10) joined Groff in double-digits, with junior Brad Bolen managing just three points on 1-12 shooting from the field. Groff and Derek Mosley finished with 13 and 11 rebounds, respectively, as Messiah out-rebounded Keystone 49-39.
 
Lunsford led Keystone with 18 points, with Candermeres (16), Tim Benedix (14), Mike Kelly (13), and Greg Westry (12) also coming up big for the Giants.
 
Keystone finished with a 46.8% shooting performance from the field, as Messiah hit on just 35.3% of their shots. Each team nailed 11 three-pointers, with Keystone doing so on one less attempt (30-29).
 
As mentioned, the Falcons will look to earn a weekend split when why host Hobart College on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.