Fayetteville, NC – Messiah used an emphatic 20-0 run to break a second-half tie with Methodist and win on the road, 73-54. Taylor Groff led the Falcons with 20 points and Brad Bolen added 18 points, 14 of which came in the game-breaking second-half run.
 
The victory for the Falcons moved them to 9-0 to start the season, a new program record; Messiah entered the game 8-0, the first time they had done so since the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons.
 
The Falcons got off to a fast start behind Brad Bolen as his second bucket put them up 6-2 with 17:05 on the clock. Methodist responded with an 11-2 run over the next 5:28, going up 13-8 on a driving layup by Bryan Hockaday.
 
Messiah missed six shots and two free-throws over that stretch, but they ended their drought in loud fashion, hitting three-straight shots from behind the arc to take a 17-13 lead. Scott Bolen started the streak off a feed from Aaron DeVan, with brother Christyan DeVan then assisting on two more three-pointers from Taylor Groff.
 
A few minutes later Groff scored around the rim to put Messiah up 21-17. In the final minutes of the half, Groff (two), Geoff Boyle (two) and Christyan DeVan (one) combined to hit five free-throws as they eventually took a 26-19 lead into the break.
 
The Monarchs started the second-half in explosive fashion and came within one point (30-29) on a three-pointer from TJ Gill with 16:34 to play. Gill hit another triple moments later and teammate Tyler Deal soon tied the game at 34-34 with a score in the paint.

Desmond Parker punctuated the comeback with a jumper at the 14:16 mark that put Methodist on top 36-34. With the momentum clearly in the Monarchs' favor, the Falcons' regained the lead off buckets from Christyan DeVan and Zac Hoy. DeVan drilled a three-pointer to put Messiah up 37-36 and Hoy followed with an old-fashioned three-point-play for a 40-36 advantage.
 
But Hockaday led the hosts back twice more, with a layup tying the game at 40-40 and, soon after, a jumper knotting the score at 42-42.
 
With 10:38 now on the clock, the Falcons took control behind Brad Bolen. Messiah's leading scorer coming into the game (22.0 ppg), Bolen had just four points on 2-5 shooting before scoring 14 points in a Falcons 20-0 run as they took a commanding 62-42 lead. He nailed two three-pointers and also hit two free-throws over the stretch, with Hoy (four) and Boyle (two) accounting for the other six points.
 
Christian McRae finally stopped the Falcons' run with a three-pointer, but with just 4:02 left on the clock the Monarchs were unable to get any closer.
 
An incredible 19-30 shooting (63.3%) supported the Falcons' second-half surge; they shot just 9-28 (32.1%) in the game's first 20 minutes. More than half of Messiah's 47 second-half points (24) also came in the paint as they finished with a 34-22 advantage over the Monarchs for the game. 
 
Bolen finished with 18 points, with all 14 of his second-half points coming in the crucial 20-0 stretch. Groff led Messiah with a game-high 20 points and Hoy added 10 points and six rebounds. Boyle led Messiah with a season-high eight rebounds in 24 minutes.
 
Parker and Gill each scored 12 points for Methodist (2-8). Hockaday scored nine points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
As mentioned, Messiah is now 9-0 for the first time in program history. They will look to move to 10-0 when they play at No. 17 Guilford College on Saturday, Jan. 4.