Grantham, PA - Brad Bolen and David Fernandez combined for 47 points on Saturday to lead No. 15 Messiah College to a 78-70 win over Arcadia University. The helped Messiah avoid their first losing streak as they moved to 13-1 overall and 7-1 in the Commonwealth Conference.
 
The Knights came into the game just 1-6 in the Commonwealth, though four of those losses were by six points or less. As those numbers would suggest, the Falcons and Knights played close throughout the game; in the first-half alone there were nine lead changes and two ties. The game's final lead change came with just under five minutes to play before halftime when the Falcons used a 11-0 run to take a 39-29 lead.
 
Scott Bolen hit a three-pointer to start that run for Messiah—his third bucket from downtown in a stretch of just 1:18. Fernandez, Brad Bolen (four), and Zac Hoy then combined for the next eight points, taking advantage of dribble-drive opportunities each time to score at the rim.
 
Arcadia recovered from the run to score the final five points of the half, limiting Messiah's advantage at the break to 39-34.
 
In the second-half Joe Brown and Arcadia continued to keep the Falcons within reach. They cut their deficit to just one point on three separate occasions, the last of which came after a three-point-play by Brown with 11:32 to go. Brad Bolen followed seconds later with a three-pointer to put Messiah up 54-50, and Taylor Groff then scored in the paint for a six-point lead.
 
Leading once more by four points (56-52) with 9:55 to play, Messiah again rolled off a double-digit run to take control. Fernandez scored the first six points of what would be a 10-0 streak as they continued to get looks near the rim. Brad Bolen finished the run to give the Falcons their largest lead of the night at 66-52.
 
Back-to-back three-pointes from Torrell Candelaria cut the Knights' deficit to 68-62 with 3:44 to play, but Zac Hoy answered soon after with a running floater. After almost two minutes without either team scoring, Fernandez put Messiah up 10 points with 1:04 left.
 
Bolen finished with 25 points, eight assists, and five rebounds, hitting 12-12 from the free-throw line. Fernandez scored 22 points, shooting 8-12 from the field and 6-7 from the line. Benefitting from looks in transition in the half-court, they were main contributors to the Falcons' impressive 34-14 advantage on points in the paint.
 
Their high-percentage looks offset just six successful attempts on 21 looks from downtown, especially in the second-half when they shot just 1-8. Messiah's stellar play was aided by solid execution and a season-low 11 turnovers. They also shot 45.6% from the field, their tenth time in 14 games they've shot better than 45%.
 
Joe Brown finished 24 points on 9-19 shooting in the losing effort. Candelaria scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds—tying Brown for the team lead—but also committed five turnovers. Alex Cohen finished with 10 points.
 
The loss was the Knights' fourth in a row and dropped them to 6-9 overall. They will look to end their streak on Wednesday, Jan. 22 when they host Alvernia University.
 
The Falcons will look to stay atop the conference on the same night when they travel to Widener University.