MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — After trailing by 12 points at halftime, the Saint Francis men's basketball team mounted a furious second-half comeback before falling short in a 95-91 shootout against Messiah University on Wednesday.
The Red Wolves (0-2) outscored the Falcons 55-47 after the break. They trimmed the deficit to a two-possession game with under a minute remaining, but Messiah (2-0) made enough plays down the stretch to hold onto its lead.
"Messiah is a great program. It was a tough road test," Saint Francis head coach
Luke McConnell said. "Proud of the effort, proud of the battle. Still working to put a total 40 minutes of execution together. I'm excited to continue to get back to work and build those habits with this group."
Senior guard
Jovany Philistin paced Saint Francis with 23 points, adding five rebounds and four assists.
Mason Douglas added 20 points off the bench.
"Jio (Jovany) and Mason consistently put in the work in practice and skill development," McConnell said. "They're seeing it pay off in the games. A testament to their work."
Saint Francis set the tone early with its full-court pressure, forcing Messiah to commit four turnovers in the first four minutes. Philistin and
Koy McGough each connected on a 3-pointer as Saint Francis jumped out to a quick 13-5 lead.
Following the under-16 media timeout, Messiah regrouped. Ben Wert scored nine of the team's first 11 points to cut the deficit to 13-11. He soon got some help from freshman Alijah Cooper, who finished with a game-high 35 points.
The Falcons claimed their first lead at 26-25 with 7:16 left in the opening half. Matters worsened for the Red Wolves when starting guard
Taurean Consiglio picked up his third foul early, relegating him to the bench for the rest of the half.
Messiah capitalized on cold Saint Francis perimeter shooting (4-of-20 from 3-point range) and shot 61.3% from the floor, closing the period on a 7-0 run to carry a 48-36 advantage into halftime.
Saint Francis came out firing in the second half, and the shots started going down. Philistin, McGough, Douglas,
Trey Weiand, and
Kasen Metzger each connected on shots from behind the arc. With 13 minutes to play, Saint Francis trailed 62-59, though it wouldn't get any closer.
"Offensively, it was fixing our pace," McConnell said of the halftime adjustments. "Guys did a great job flowing in the second half and generating more paint pressure for better shot opportunities."
Despite shooting 52.9% as a team in the second half, every time the Red Wolves gained momentum, Messiah answered.
Mechanicsburg native
Trey Weiand enjoyed a strong homecoming. The Red Wolves' senior captain finished with 16 points, a team-high eight rebounds and went 7-for-7 at the free-throw line.
Saint Francis returns to action Friday when it travels to Tiffin, Ohio, to face Albion College in the opening round of the Ron Linhart Memorial Classic hosted by Heidelberg University.
