Messiah 84, Lebanon Valley 78
 
LVC Starters
Baker, Tucker, Covey, Jones, Deihm
 
Messiah Starters
Darville, Carter, Krout, Criddle, Porter
 
How It Happened
GRANTHAM, Pa. – Messiah College pulled away late from Lebanon Valley in an 84-78 defeat on Tuesday evening in MAC Commonwealth Men's Basketball action. The Flying Dutchmen dropped to 11-13, 6-9 MAC Commonwealth and were eliminated from playoff contention, while the Falcons jumped to 11-13, 4-11 MAC Commonwealth.
 
With 3:18 remaining in the game, Cam Carter hit a layup for Messiah to put the home team in control at 79-72. LVC refused to go down that easy, and with 1:54 left, Luis Garcia took over and hit a free throw, followed by a layup at 1:19. The rookie was fouled on the play and hit the and-1, bringing the visiting Dutchmen to within one at 79-78. On the Falcons' ensuing possession, however, Carter knocked down a huge triple, putting his team up by four at 82-78 with 47 seconds left. LVC couldn't convert on its next offensive possession, and Carter then made back-to-back shots from the charity stripe with 24 seconds left, giving Messiah the six-point cushion and the eventual win.
 
Action early in the game was close as Trevor Covey connected on a 3-pointer at 14:32 to give LVC a slight 12-10 advantage. The Falcons responded with an 11-0 spurt that spanned just two minutes of action to go up 21-12 with 12:34 left in the opening half. Zach Tucker brought the Dutchmen back to life with a 3-pointer on LVC's next possession, but Messiah answered with another run, this time a 12-4 run, and opened up a 14-point cushion at 33-19 with 7:20 to go. The Dutchmen again stopped the bleeding with a triple, this time by Covey, and eventually, LVC cut the deficit to six at 42-36 with 1:23 to go after Justin Baker's free throw. In the final 1:04 of action, Messiah's EJ Porter hit one from beyond the arc, followed by Christian Reames' layup with 40 ticks left, giving the Falcons a 47-36 advantage heading into second-half action.
 
In the second, AJ Catanzaro helped LVC cut Messiah's lead to four with 15:06 to go after his layup made it 52-48, but the Falcons quickly went back up by double digits at 61-50 thanks to a 9-2 run. The Dutchmen stayed in the game thanks to several makes from distance, as Mason Green dropped a 3-pointer at 12:36 to bring LVC to within five at 63-58, and later, with 8:45 remaining, Collin Jones made a layup to make it just a two-point game at 65-63. LVC finally evened the game with 5:28 left when Zach Tucker's jumper tied things up at 72-72, but later, after the Dutchmen came to within one again at 1:19, Carter iced the game with his triple with 47 ticks left on the clock.
 
Inside the Numbers
 - Collin Jones, the reigning MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week, scored 22 points tonight and added six rebounds.
 - Zach Tucker ended with 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
 - Jeremy Deihm added eight points and nine boards for the Dutchmen.
 - Luis Garcia provided nine points off the bench to go along with five rebounds.
  - Joe Wright netted eight points off the bench in 21 minutes of action.
 - Cam Carter paced Messiah with 27 points, while Josh Darville had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
 - The Falcons shot 48.5% from the floor while the Dutchmen shot 42%.
 - LVC led in points off turnovers at 14-8, bench points at 25-22, and points in the paint at 34-30.
 
Who's Next?
LVC wraps up its 2019-20 season this Saturday, Feb. 22, when Arcadia visits Sorrentino Gymnasium at 4 p.m. The game will also serve as LVC's Make-A-Wish Game and Hot Dog Frank Day.
 
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