READING, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team engaged with Messiah in an instant classic on Saturday afternoon at Bollman Center. It took three overtimes and a memorable shot to decide a winner. Unfortunately for the Lions, that final shot went Messiah's way as the Falcons defeated Albright, 101-100, in triple overtime.

In a game that saw 10 tie scores and six lead changes, the final one of each came on Messiah's final possession. Albright held a 100-97 lead after a Fred Rowles free throw pushed the Lions' lead to three points. Messiah bled the clock to six seconds and called timeout.

On the inbounds play, Colin Sareyka leaned into a three-point attempt on the right wing and was fouled. The shot, more of a shot-in-the-dark as it left the unbalanced Sareyka's hands, banked in to tie the score at 100 apiece. Sareyka made the free throw, and a last-second three pointer from Samuel Majekodunmi couldn't find the mark for the Lions.

The game wouldn't have even reached a first overtime without a Lions' comeback in the second half. Messiah led, 69-63, with 2:36 to play, but Garrett Oplinger helped the Lions get back in the game with his long-distance shooting. Oplinger made a three to make it 69-66 on Albright's next possession.

After another Messiah score made it 71-66, Fred Rowles scored on the fast break after a steal by Majekodunmi. Messiah turned the ball over on its next possession, and Oplinger hit another three with 29 seconds left to tie the score at 71. It stood there until the buzzer. Oplinger finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in extensive action off the bench.

In the first overtime, Albright led by as many as five points, but Messiah chipped away as the teams traded buckets throughout the period. Sareyka tied the score at 80 with 59 seconds left, and Majekodunmi nearly ended the game at the buzzer after he corralled a loose ball and fired toward the rim. The shot wouldn't fall, and the game went into the second overtime period.

Back-to-back buckets from DeLascio Dancy and Smith gave Albright an 87-84 lead with less than a minute to play in the second overtime. After Messiah hit a three to tie it, Rowles made a pair of free throws to give Albright an 89-87 lead with just nine seconds to play. On Messiah's last attempt, Matt Hess was fouled with just two seconds to play, and he made both free throws. Tied at 89, the teams continued on to the third overtime.

Albright led by as many as five in the third overtime period, but the lead stood at three after Rowles' free throw made it 100-97. That set the scene for Sareyka's desperation four-point play in the final seconds.

Three Albright players finished with double-doubles. Smith led all scorers with 32 points. He added 10 rebounds and six assists. Rowles scored 21 points with 11 rebounds, and Jared Rappoport finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Rappoport also added three more blocks to his season total, giving him 34 for the year. That moves him into a tie for 10^th place on Albright's single-season blocks list.

Albright returns to action at crosstown rival Alvernia on Wednesday. Tip-off for the men's game is set for 6 p.m.