Reading, PA - Messiah College couldn't overcome a strong finish by the Crusaders on Saturday, falling 77-69 in a Commonwealth battle at Alvernia University. The Falcons trailed Alvernia 54-50 with under seven minutes to play, but couldn't draw any closer as they fell victim to their hosts.
 
The Falcons closed their deficit to that four-point separation off a three-pointer by senior Derek Mosley, but would then miss six-straight shots. When junior Brad Bolen ended their drought at the 3:00 mark with a two-point jumper, Messiah was trailing 63-52.
 
Alvernia's late run was sparked by both Terrence Bridgers and Kahlil Bennett, as the pair each scored four points to push their lead to 63-50 before Bolen's jumper.
 
Now trailing by double-digits for the first time all afternoon, Messiah was only able to trade baskets until closing to within six points with just five seconds remaining. The final seconds eventually ran off the clock, ending what had been a three-game winning streak.
 
The loss drops Messiah, who played Saturday without head coach Rick Van Pelt, to 7-5 overall. Van Pelt missed the game so he could attend the funeral of his grandmother. 
 
Alvernia improves to 8-3 this season, including 3-2 in the Commonwealth.
 
Saturday's game between Messiah and Alvernia was closely contested for most of the afternoon, with the Crusaders' early 9-3 lead quickly erased by the visiting Falcons. A three-point play by sophomore Zac Hoy knotted the game at 18-18 with 6:56 left in the first-half, with Bolen giving the Falcons a 24-22 lead just minutes later. Eventually, the two teams entered the intermission tied at 29-29.
 
The second-half started as the first-half ended, as both teams traded blows in their attempts to capture momentum. A three-pointer by Hoy gave Messiah a 38-35 lead with 15:08 remaining, but the Crusaders responded with a 14-2 run over the next 5:51 to take a 49-40 lead. Bridgers scored seven points over the stretch, as Alvernia regained a lead they would not relinquish.
 
Still, Messiah battled back. Taylor Groff and Hoy each scored a bucket to draw the visitors to within 49-44 with 8:20 left in the game. Moments later, Mosley hit one of his three three-pointers in the game to bring the Falcons to within 54-50.
 
But, as mentioned, it was there that Messiah went cold. Led by Bridgers' game-high 29 points—21 of which came after the intermission—Alvernia proved to be too much for Messiah to handle on this January afternoon.
 
Bridgers was joined by three other Crusader players in double-figure scoring: Bennett (16), Lamont Clarke (14), and Brian Paker (13). Parker added a team-high nine rebounds, as both teams collected 37 total rebounds in the game.
 
Bolen led Messiah with 17 points, as Mosley and Hoy each scored 15 points, respectively. Groff and Chrystan DeVan also scored 10 points apiece, as Groff grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to account for his second-straight double-double.
 
Each team turned the ball over just nine times, but Alvernia managed to shoot 47.2% from the field in the game. This included a strong 55.6% performance in the second-half. Messiah, meanwhile, shot just 39.7% for the game. Alvernia also proved efficient from the three-point stripe, hitting eight of 15 attempts (53.3%). The Falcons shot just 9-28 from downtown (32.1%), uncharacteristic for a Messiah team that entered the afternoon shooting 37.6% on the season from deep.
 
Messiah will look to right their shooting slump and get back into the win column next week Wednesday when they play host to Commonwealth-newcomer Stevenson University. The teams are set to tip-off at 8:00 p.m. in Brubaker Auditorium.