GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Arcadia University men's basketball team continued MAC Commonwealth play Saturday, falling 75-69 at Messiah. The Knights fell to 9-11 on the season and 4-7 in conference play, while the Falcons improved to 10-8 overall and 5-5 in MAC Commonwealth play.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The hosts took control early by jumping out to a 9-2 lead 3:15 into the contest. Trailing by 10 midway way through the opening frame, the Knights battled their way back to take a 31-30 lead following a layup from sophomore
Evan Slone to cap an 18-7 run with 3:54 to go unto the break. Messiah went on to end the half on an 11-5 run to take a 41-36 lead to the break.
A 5-9 shooting performance over the first 5:01 of the second half helped put Arcadia back in front by a pair, as freshman
Will Derr laid in two points for a 48-46 advantage. The Knights found themselves down nine with 4:25 to go before sophomore
Kyle Reilly converted a pair of free throws to ignite a six-point spurt which was capped by a Slone layup to pull within three at 65-62 with 2:43 left in regulation. Though the Knights went 3-5 from the floor down the stretch, a 10-12 showing at the charity stripe was enough for Messiah to hold on.
MASTER THEIF: Kelley's four steals on the night moved him into first place on the all-time list. He currently sits at 178 career steals, surpassing Arcadia Hall of Famer Orick Smith's previous record of 176.
ARCADIA LEADERS: Reilly led the way for Arcadia with 17 points, with Slone contributing 16. Sophomores
Josh Scott and
Phil Pierfy each added 11. Slone and Pierfy matched a game-high with eight rebounds, while Scott dished out a team-best four assists and senior
Ryan Kelley registered a team-leading four steals.
MESSIAH LEADERS: Rob McWilliams scored a game-high 19 points, while being joined in double-figures by Josh Clippinger (17) and Neil Murren (11). Murren matched the game-high in rebounds with eight.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Arcadia shot 44.3% (27-61) from the floor, including 5-19 from distance, while going 10-11 at the free throw line. The Falcons finished the game shooting 39% (23-59), including 7-24 from beyond the arc, while converting 22-29 at the charity stripe. Messiah's outrebounding of Arcadia 45-28 led to a 22-6 advantage in second chance points, however the Knights controlled the paint 36-24.
