Box Score
GRANTHAM, Pa – Led by a surprise contribution from senior Andy Hawk and aided by a hot start, the Messiah College Falcons (12-12, 7-7 Commonwealth Conference) stunned men's basketball (15-10, 7-7) by the score of 63-62 on Saturday afternoon at Brubaker Auditorium to capture the final playoff spot in the conference.
Hawk, who came into the game averaging just 4.7 points per game, dropped in 18 points on 7 for 11 shooting from the field and also grabbed six rebounds in the final home game of his career.
The host Falcons jumped all over the visiting Lions in the opening moments. A three pointer from Hawk gave Messiah a 15-4 edge just four and a half minutes into the game. The Falcons kept coming and expanded the lead to as much as 16 on a successful layup by Trey Ritzman with 3:12 left in the opening half. The Red & White would cut that lead to 11 before heading into the locker room down 36-25.
The Lions wouldn't go away in the second half of play. A jumper by
Matt Ashcroft dwindled Messiah's lead to six with 10:55 to go. The score would hover around that advantage until
Zac Shaeffer took over in the closing moments. He hit two foul shots and a three to cut the lead to one with 1:55 showing on the clock. He then hit a layup and another three to cut Messiah's lead to one on two more occasions, the final being with 28 seconds to play.
Ritzman would get fouled following Shaffer's three and calmly sank two free throws with 21 seconds left. After a Shaeffer turnover, Messiah's Jeremiah Runkle missed two free throws to give the Lions one more chance. However, Shaeffer missed his final three-point attempt and a
Derek Hall layup at the buzzer wouldn't be enough as Messiah prevailed by one.
Besides Hawk, Messiah was also led by Runkle. He poured in 16 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished three assists on the day.
Shaeffer led all scorers with 21 points on 8 for 17 shooting. He hit three of his nine three-point attempts and also dished four assists. Also finishing in doubles figures were Ashcroft and point guard
Jeff Sparrow. Ashcroft finished with 11 points and Sparrow had ten. Hall grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
The loss leaves the defending conference champions out of the Commonwealth playoffs due to an unlikely scenario. Alvernia and Lebanon Valley had the top two spots locked up heading into Saturday. Widener defeated Lycoming 93-83 to finish at 8-6 and secure the third seed, while Messiah's win gives them the fourth spot at 7-7 over both Albright and Elizabethtown.
Elizabethtown, which only needed to defeat an Arcadia side that was winless in conference play, fell 85-84 to be left out. The playoffs matchups will now be Alvernia versus Messiah and Lebanon Valley versus Widener next Wednesday.
Saturday's match-up marked the final game in the careers of Shaeffer, Ashcroft, and Sparrow.
