Moravian jumped out to a quick 11-5 lead in the first three minutes of the game, but an 11-2 run by Messiah gave the Falcons the lead for good at 16-13 just over three minutes later. Messiah would have a 17-point edge at one point in the first half and a 44-29 halftime lead.
The Falcons were 16 of 32 from the floor including three of nine on three-pointers and nine of 12 at the foul line in the first 20 minutes. Messiah also committed just six first half turnovers and had a 20-13 edge in rebounds. Moravian finished the first half 11 of 26 from the field (42.3 percent), four of 12 behind the three-point line (33.3 percent) and a perfect three of three at the foul line. However, the Greyhounds committed 12 turnovers in the first half.
Messiah would maintain its lead throughout the second half as the Falcons led by as many as 24 points. Messiah made another 16 field goal attempts in the second half on 38 attempts, and the Falcons finished the game with a 39-30 edge on the boards.
The Greyhounds did shoot 50 percent from the floor after the intermission, making 12 of 24 field goal attempts, and Moravian, one of the top free throw shooting teams in the nation, was 12 of 17 (70.6 percent) from the foul line in the second half.
The Greyhounds had three players in double figures as all 16 players in uniform saw at least two minutes of action. Sophomore guard Justin Chestnut led Moravian with 14 points to go with five assists and four rebounds while junior guard Michael Clemente and senior forward Zach Zsilavecz each tossed in ten points. Clemente added five assists while Zsilavecz had three rebounds.
Senior forward Ed Reid had nine points, all in the second half, with four rebounds. Sophomore forwards Mark Franzyshen and Eric Whitman each had seven points with Whitman grabbing three rebounds. Junior forward Matt Devlin contributed six rebounds and five points for Moravian.
For Messiah, senior forward Zach Wiernicki contributed a game high 23 points to go with six rebounds, three assists and three steals while junior forward Jared Yoder had 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Senior guard Quinn McCullough dished out a game high eight assists for the Falcons while scoring seven points.
Newspaper Box Score Messiah College vs Moravian College 01/25/06 8:20 PM at Johnston Hall, Bethlehem, PA At Johnston Hall, Bethlehem, PA MESSIAH COLLEGE 80, MORAVIAN COLLEGE 67 MESSIAH COLLEGE (12-6, 5-2 Common) Zach Wiernicki 9-23 4-5 23; Jared Yoder 9-12 3-3 21; Darryl Brown 3-5 2-2 8; Matt Henninger 3-6 0-0 7; Quinn Mccullough 3-7 0-0 7; Drew Sneeringer 2-5 1-2 6; Dan Snyder 1-3 0-0 2; Ryan Witmer 1-1 0-0 2; Ryan Tiplady 1-2 0-1 2; Steve King 0-5 2-3 2; Jason Miller 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-70 12-16 80. MORAVIAN COLLEGE (5-13, 0-7 Common) Justin Chestnut 5-6 2-2 14; Zach Zsilavecz 3-10 4-6 10; Michael Clemente 4-9 0-0 10; Ed Reid 4-8 0-0 9; Eric Whitman 2-3 3-3 7; Mark Franzyshen 3-5 1-1 7; Matt Devlin 1-2 3-4 5; Joe Depasquale 1-3 0-0 3; Kyle Hatfield 0-1 0-0 0; Ryan Miller 0-1 0-0 0; Chris Earley 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-50 15-20 67. Messiah College............... 44 36 - 80 Moravian College.............. 29 38 - 67 3-point goals-Messiah College 4-20 (Quinn Mccullough 1-4; Matt Henninger 1-2; Zach Wiernicki 1-5; Drew Sneeringer 1-3; Ryan Tiplady 0-1; Steve King 0-2; Dan Snyder 0-1; Darryl Brown 0-2), Moravian College 6-19 (Michael Clemente 2-5; Justin Chestnut 2-2; Ed Reid 1-3; Joe Depasquale 1-2; Matt Devlin 0-1; Kyle Hatfield 0-1; Chris Earley 0-1; Eric Whitman 0-1; Zach Zsilavecz 0-3). Fouled out--Messiah College-None, Moravian College-None. Rebounds-Messiah College 39 (Jared Yoder 8), Moravian College 30 (Matt Devlin 6). Assists-Messiah College 21 (Quinn Mccullough 8), Moravian College 16 (Justin Chestnut 5; Michael Clemente 5). Total fouls-Messiah College 18, Moravian College 17. A-197