Grantham, PA – Brad Bolen set a new career-high with 31 points, shooting 10-14 from the field to lead Messiah to a 74-57 win over Arcadia University. The win avenges a loss to the Knights from just three weeks ago and, coupled with a Lycoming loss to Stevenson, brings Messiah, Arcadia, and Lycoming into a three-way tie for third place in the Commonwealth Conference (8-6).
 
Bolen provided much of the excitement for Messiah on Saturday, as he scored the final 12 points of a 17-2 run that turned a 52-50 lead with 7:37 left into a 69-52 advantage with just 2:36 on the clock. The final three points of the run came on a momentous drive by Bolen down the middle of the lane, with the dynamic guard drawing a foul as his left-sided scoop rolled around the rim and through the net.
 
"Brad was in attack mode tonight, which is always good for our team," Messiah head coach Rick Van Pelt said. "Our team was aggressive, and we made plays for each other—especially in that second-half run."
 
Before Bolen and the Falcons took their commanding lead, both teams were locked in an intense battle. A pick-and-roll between Khalief Trawick and Joe Brown brought Arcadia to within 46-43 with 10:34 and, moments later, a drive to the rim by Trawick cut Messiah's lead to 52-50.
 
From there, Messiah started to pull away. Bolen made the first of two free-throw attempts to put the Falcons up three points, with Derek Mosley then stealing the rebound from Aaron Lee-Webb for a quick score. After forcing two misses on the Knights' next possession, the Falcons went up 57-50 when Taylor Groff grabbed an offensive rebound for a put-back on the left side.
 
With the Messiah fans cheering loudly, Arcadia called a timeout to regroup. But Messiah, and Bolen, was just getting started.
 
After hitting a three-pointer to give Messiah a 61-52 lead, Bolen collected a three-point-play on a drop-step jump shot to the middle of the lane. It would be just a part of a personal 12-2 run to lead Messiah to the lopsided decision.
 
"Our team was very intentional tonight—we rebounded on both ends and we were committed on the defensive end," Van Pelt said. "We stayed motivated all night, and we were ready to make the most of our chances."
 
Messiah's "chances" were mainly the product of fundamental, strong ball control and passing against the Knights' heavy ball pressure. Arcadia spent much of the night in full-court pressure, mixing in a 1-2-2 trapping press with their man-to-man attack. The Knights even spent a few possessions in the second-half in a match-up 2-3 zone, as they were doing all they could to slow down the Falcons' efficient offense.
 
"Last time we played them, we knew that we let the game get away from us," Van Pelt said, referring to the Falcons' 95-81 loss in Glenside, Pa., on Jan. 12. "We didn't necessarily want to have to slow it down tonight, but we wanted to make sure we controlled the tempo. I think we did a good job of that."
 
To that point, the Falcons allowed Arcadia to score just 57 points—four points less than they scored in the second-half of their win over Messiah three weeks ago. The Knights also shot just 42.0% from the field, a far cry from their 67.3% shooting performance earlier this season.
 
By keeping the game in their control, Messiah also managed to launch quality looks from the field. In addition to Bolen's 10-14 showing, Taylor Groff proved efficient in scoring 16 points on 7-13 shooting from the field. Messiah also shot 19-24 from the free-throw line, as their aggressive attack kept the Knights on their heels.
 
Messiah did not trail in the game after the 8:24 mark of the first-half, as they also move to 10-2 this season when leading at the half. The Falcons led by as many as 10 points in the first-half, with a pull-up jumper by Bolen on the right wing putting Messiah up 27-17 with just over four minutes before intermission.
 
The Falcons led 33-26 at the break, though Arcadia tied the game at 37-37 with 16:33 on the clock. But Groff completed a quick 7-0 run for Messiah with a three-pointer from the left wing, putting the Falcons ahead 44-37 with 14:53 left.
 
Hoy added 10 points for the Falcons, while Lee-Webb led the Knights with 12 points.
 
As mentioned, the win locks Messiah (12-8, 8-6) into three-way tie with Arcadia (13-8, 8-6) and Lycoming for third place in the Commonwealth Conference. With five teams making the playoffs this season, Stevenson and Hood remain in the hunt with identical 6-8 conference records.
 
Arcadia and Lycoming will match-up with each other a week from today, while Messiah will travel to Stevenson on Wednesday of next week.