Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. – Senior guard Matt Henninger scored a game-high 27 points, leading Messiah College to a 67-61 victory over Lebanon Valley in Commonwealth Conference men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at the LVC Gymnasium.

Henninger shot 5-for-7 from 3-point range and made three-straight treys during a key first-half stretch for the Falcons (14-4, 8-0 CC), who stayed unbeaten in the Commonwealth Conference and swept its season series with the Dutchmen. Messiah shot 43.5% (10-for-23) from beyond the arc and 43.1% from the field.

Lebanon Valley (11-8, 3-5 CC) received 16 points from senior guard Jimmy Curran and 15 points off the bench from backcourt mate Hunter Bretschneider, who shot 3-for-5 from long distance.

Messiah built a 10-point (38-28) halftime lead and never trailed in the second half. A pair of Bretschneider free throws made it 60-55 with 51 seconds left, but the Falcons iced the game at the line, going 7-for-8 at the charity stripe over the final 50 seconds.

It was a back-and-forth affair in the early going, with three ties and two lead changes over the opening 14 minutes. Bretschneider drilled a trey with 6:14 left in the opening period to give the Dutchmen a 26-25 lead, but Henninger answered with his three straight 3-pointers to put his team up eight (34-26) with 3:04 on the clock.

Jared Yoder gave dropped in a lay-up with 35 seconds left in the opening half to give Messiah its first double-digit lead of the night at 38-28, which held up as the halftime score.

Lebanon Valley used a 9-0 run early in the second half to pull to within four. With his team trailing 41-28, Curran got things going with a conventional 3-point play, then added three more free throws to make it 41-36. A foul shot from sophomore forward Eric Humphrey made it a 41-37 ballgame with 15:36 to go, prompting a Messiah timeout. The Falcons then scored the next five points to push their lead back to nine (46-37).

The Dutchmen were unable to get closer than seven the rest of the way until Bretscheneider’s late free throws.

Sophomore guards Kyle Enoch and Dan Hodge contributed nine and eight points, respectively, for the Valley while junior forward Peter Ruth posted six points, six rebounds, and three blocks.

Jason Miller and Drew Sneeringer scored nine points apiece for Messiah.

Lebanon Valley returns to the hardwood on Wednesday, when it visits Widener University at 7 p.m. in another Commonwealth Conference game.

[Photo - Senior Jimmy Curran, who scored 16 points against Messiah on Saturday]

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