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Squad Suffers Through Tough Day On Road, Falls At Widener
Sophomore Kyle Snyder grabbed a game-high seven boards, but Messiah struggled mightily on the offensive end in its 22-point loss to Widener.

Chester, PA — Just moments into Saturday’s MAC Commonwealth match-up at Widener University, Messiah College senior and leading scorer Darryl Brown landed awkwardly after going in for a layup.

He laid on the Schwartz Center floor for nearly a minute, citing numbness in his right hip and arm.

It was an ominous sign of things to come.

Though Brown would return to action midway through the first half, it was not to be for Messiah, as the Falcons dropped a 50-72 decision to the host Pride, equaling the team’s largest margin of defeat this season.

Messiah (13-6, 2-2) committed 22 turnovers to Widener’s 10 and was outscored at the free throw line by 12 points, failing to place any individual in double-figure scoring for the first time in over a decade.

It was the second-worst league loss in head coach Rick Van Pelt’s five years at the helm, giving the program leader good reason to look ahead.

“I looked at (Saturday’s) stat sheet for probably a shorter amount of time than after any other game,” Van Pelt said. “They just beat us today. They were a better team than we were today, that’s for sure.”

Brown’s early injury certainly didn’t help matters for the Falcons, as Widener (16-3, 2-2) shot out to a 16-4 lead shortly thereafter. Brown’s return paid immediate dividends at the half’s 12:20 mark, as the senior buried a jumper to pull his squad within a 16-8 score.

Widener then put together a 12 to two run over the game’s next four and a half minutes, leading by a 28-10 score with 7:53 remaining before halftime. A slow but steady Messiah push drew Van Pelt’s team within seven points at the three-minute mark, as a trifecta from Brown made the score 30-23, Widener. Messiah would eventually trail by just eight points at the intermission, as a jumper from junior Jason Miller made the halftime count 35-27.

“We had a tough time matching up with their athleticism,” Van Pelt said. “We got down by 18 early in the first half, but we felt pretty good cutting it to eight at the half.”

After a second-half opening layup from Widener’s Jamarr Johnson, Messiah senior John Boyd buried a three and sophomore Josh Curtin scored inside, pulling the Falcons within a 37-32 difference with 18:27 to play.

That would be as close as the team would get, however, as Widener scored 13 of the game’s next 16 points to pull ahead 50-35 with 11:38 to play. Van Pelt’s team would close the gap to 13 points on three occasions, but the day was Widener’s: The Pride made nine of 12 second-half free throws — including seven of nine in the game’s final two and a half minutes.

“We didn’t defend well, and we didn’t make adjustments well enough,” Van Pelt said. “Widener made some shots that we didn’t expect them to make, and I’m not sure if that was our defense or them just shooting the ball really well on a particular day. We just didn’t play very well today.”

Boyd shared game-high scoring honors with sophomore Jamie Yoder, as each player scored nine points. Brown returned to play just 19 minutes in scoring eight, as did sophomore Andy Hawk. Sophomore Kyle Snyder grabbed a team-leading seven boards, while Miller was the squad’s high assist man in dishing out four helpers.

The Falcons’ 21 turnovers was the team’s highest amount in its last three games, while its 10 assists equaled a season low. Messiah’s five of eight performance at the free throw line was also its second-lowest amount of the year in both makes and attempts.

“We did turn the ball over too much, but they weren’t in the spots we thought they might be,” Van Pelt said. “We did a pretty good job of handling Widener’s press, but had troubles in the half court.”

To date, both of Messiah’s conference losses have come to foes rebounding from big defeats of their own: The Falcons dropped a 68-84 loss at 25th-ranked Elizabethtown a week ago after the Blue Jays dropped a 79-78 overtime decision to Lycoming College just days before, while Widener suffered a 63-78 setback at Lebanon Valley College Wednesday.

With the Falcons’ next contest coming against Albright College Wednesday night at 8 p.m., something will give: Albright dropped a 53-76 loss to Lycoming on Saturday, the team’s first conference loss of the season.

“We’ve had the tough task of going on the road twice to play teams that were coming off of disappointing losses,” Van Pelt said. “Both teams will be licking their wounds (Wednesday), though. I’m excited to see how we’ll respond.”