GRANTHAM, Pa. – Senior Evan Ward recorded his fourth consecutive double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, but Albright could not overcome a slow start and dropped a 66-60 MAC Commonwealth decision to Messiah on Saturday at Brubaker Auditorium.
 
Ward notched his sixth double-double in the last seven games for the Lions, but Albright could not overcome a slow start that saw them score just 13 points in the first half.
 
Albright, which saw its two-game winning streak come to an end, made just 4-of-19 field goal attempts in the first half as Messiah stormed out to a 28-13 lead at the intermission.
 
The Lions shot 41.0 percent from the floor in the second half, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
 
Jimmy Brackett had 13 points and 13 rebounds to lead Messiah. Geoff Boyle also finished with 13 points, while Luke Cable had 12 points and Josh Clippinger added 10 points.
 
Brandon Lindsay added a career-high 14 points for Albright and Jaylin Calloway had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
 
Messiah, which improved to 4-10 overall and 1-4 in the MAC Commonwealth, never trailed in the game and scored the first nine points of the contest.
 
Boyle had four points and Cable added a three-pointer as Messiah raced out to a 9-0 lead with 15:08 to play in the first half.
 
After a Calvert Gantz free throw cut the Messiah lead to 11-5 with 12:03 to play in the first half, Messiah responded with a 9-0 run which included two three-pointers from Boyle to push the lead to 20-5 with 6:16 remaining in the opening half.
 
A three-pointer from Lindsay and a basket by Calloway cut the lead to 20-10 with 5:28 to play in the first, but the Falcons closed the half with an 8-3 run to take a 28-13 lead into the intermission.
 
Messiah stretched the lead to as many as 19 points on two occasions in the second half before Albright mounted a comeback late in the second period.
 
The Lions, who dropped to 6-8 overall and 3-2 in conference play, trailed by 57-46 with 3:15 to play before a rebound basket by Ward and two free throws by Calloway cut the lead to 57-50 with 2:23 remaining in the game.
 
Jonah Meredith responded with a layup for the Falcons, but Lindsay drilled a three-pointer to bring Albright to within 59-53 with 1:57 left in the game.
 
A layup by Micah Brown and two free throws by Brackett upped the Messiah lead to 63-53 with 1:00 to play in the game.
 
The Lions climbed to within five points with under 10 seconds to go, but Meredith sealed the win with a free throw.
 
Albright returns to action on Wednesday (Jan. 13) when it hosts Lycoming at 8 p.m. in the Bollman Center.