Reading, Pa. (Feb. 12, 2022) - After Messiah University (9-11, 7-7) led by as much as 17 points midway through the first half, Alvernia University (17-5, 10-4) flipped the script in the second half and went on to defeat the Falcons 93-75 on Saturday afternoon in MAC Commonwealth men's basketball action on Saturday at Alvernia.
Messiah led by 17 with 9:23 left in the first half, but Alvernia chipped away slightly in the final minutes of the half to enter the break facing an 11 point deficit, 48-37. Alvernia came out of the break looking like an entirely different team. The Golden Wolves shot 70% from the field in the second half and outscored Messiah 56-27 in the final 20 minutes to take the 93-75 win.
The Falcons got off to an incredible start, quickly jumping out to an 11-3 lead in just under four minutes. During those opening minutes, Messiah went 5-for-5 from the field and forced five missed shots and a turnover by Alvernia.
After Alvernia called an early timeout, Messiah still kept its foot on the gas and extended its lead to 13, 19-6, after six minutes of play. After two made free throws a minute later, Messiah led by 15, 21-6, with 12:32 left in the first half.
A 10-5 run by Alvernia over the next two minutes that included threes from Jakob Kelly and Jacob Stoudt cut Messiah lead down to ten, 26-16, but Messiah quickly built it back up. The Falcons scored seven straight points to take their largest lead of the afternoon, 33-16, with 9:23 to play in the half.
Alvernia began to slowly chip away, starting with two made Kelly free throws and an Avery Walker three to make it an 11 point game, 35-24, with seven minutes to go in the first half.
After Alvernia cut it down to single digits, 35-26, Messiah responded with a three from Caleb Light to go back up by 12, 38-26, with 4:56 on the first half clock.
The Messiah lead hovered around 11 points for the next four minutes, but a layup from Messiah Christian Reames put Messiah back up by 13, 48-35, with less than a minute to go. Taylor went on to score the final points of the half to make it an 11 point game, 48-37, in favor of Messiah.
Messiah opened the second half with a layup, but Malik Green matched it with one of his own during the opening possessions of the final frame.
Green then put Alvernia back within single digits, 50-42, with a 3-pointer off a steal, and Keon Taylor brought Alvernia within six, 50-44, on a layup with 18:38 to play.
Following a Messiah layup to make it 52-44 with 17:23 to play, Alvernia went on a 7-0 run over two minutes to make it a one point game. Green accounted for five of the seven points, and Taylor added the final two.
It stayed a one possession game in favor of Messiah for the next minute and a half, but a layup from Green off a block and defensive rebound by Alvenria's Rece Harman at the 14:03 mark made it a 57-56 game in favor of Alvernia, and as the Golden Wolves took the lead for good.
Alvernia built on its lead from there, and a 3-pointer by Avery Walker four minutes later extended Alvernia's lead to six, 64-58, about midway through the half.
Three minutes later, with 7:07 left on the clock, Alvernia reached a double-digit lead, 71-61, for the first time following a layup from Keon Taylor. After Messiah matched that with a layup of its own, Stoudt knocked down a three to put Alvernia up 11, 74-63, with 5:47 to play.
Stoudt stayed hot over the next four minutes and knocked down two more 3-pointers as Alvernia continued to build on its lead. A three by Stoudt at the 1:29 mark put Alvernia up by 15, 87-72.
Alvernia's final points came off of six made free throws, including four from Walker, as Alvernia completed the comeback and then some, 93-75.
After shooting just 40% in the first half, Alvernia shot 70% (19-for-27) from the floor in the second half. The Golden Wolves also went 6-for-10 from beyond the arc in the final frame.
Taylor led Alvernia with a 28 point, seven rebound, five assist performance. Walker also put up 21 points and was 6-for-6 from the line. Stoudt finished the night with 12 points, all from beyond the arc. The sophomore went 4-for-5 in three point range.
The Golden Wolves return to action on Tuesday at Widener for their penultimate game of the regular season. Alvernia closes out the regular season on Saturday hosting Hood. Alvernia currently sits in third place in the MAC Commonwealth with all teams making the postseason this season.
