Will Schlosser vs. Messiah 12/3/11
Thom Swarr
47
Elizabethtown ETWN-M 8-16, 4-10 CC
72
Winner Messiah MESSM 18-6, 12-2 CC
Elizabethtown ETWN-M
8-16, 4-10 CC
47
Final
72
Messiah MESSM
18-6, 12-2 CC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Elizabethtown ETWN-M 24 23 47
Messiah MESSM 38 34 72

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's basketball falls at Messiah to end season

GRANTHAM, Pa. -- The Elizabethtown College men's hoops team couldn't find the winning formula in its final game of the 2011-12 season. E-town finished the campaign on the road, dropping a 72-47 Commonwealth Conference game to Messiah Saturday afternoon at Brubaker Auditorium.

For Elizabethtown (8-16, 4-10 CC), it was tough sledding from the start. Messiah's (18-6, 12-2 CC) Dwayne Allgyer drained a 3-point shot in the opening minutes of the game as the Falcons built a 7-0 lead in the first four minutes. Messiah's lead would hold up the entire game, and unfortunately for the Jays, it failed to decrease. Zach Hoy's pair of free throws gave Messiah its first double-digit lead at 18-7 with 11:23 to play before halftime. In that final 11:23, Messiah's edge remained strong. Lee Eckert's basket with 26 seconds left got E-town's deficit down to 38-24 at the break.

Messiah's sizable advantage became even more of a daunting mountain to climb for the Jays when the Falcons scored nine of the first 11 points in the second half to make it 47-26. Allgyer scored four of those, while Trey Ritzman chipped in a 3-pointer.

The Falcons were strong on the boards, outrebounding E-town 39-18. The Jays were held under 20 rebounds only one other time this season prior to Saturday. That also came at the hands of the Falcons back in a game at Thompson Gymnasium on Dec. 3.

Messiah landed big points from its bench players to keep a firm control of the game. Taylor Groff went 4-of-5 from the floor for 13 points, while Hoy and Brad Bolen each came off Rick Van Pelt's bench to score 10. Regular starter Christyan DeVan came off the bench, yielding a start to Allgyer, one of Messiah's three seniors being honored on Senior Day.

Ben Cable came into the game with more than 60 points scored over his last two games, and for a third consecutive game he led the Jays' scoring attack. While he couldn't duplicate his back-to-back games with seven 3-pointers made, the York native was the only E-town player in double figures with 13 points. Cable added five rebounds and scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half.

The rest of the Jays' offense struggled to find a rhythm Saturday. Will Schlosser came through with all eight of his points in the second half, while sophomore David Feuz scored six and two assists. Steve Ennis had five points.

Saturday marked the final game for seniors Kyle McConnell and Dan Silver. McConnell handed out 336 career assists, seventh most in Elizabethtown men's basketball history. The Lebanon native and Cedar Crest grad had two points and two rebounds in 27 minutes Saturday. Silver started and matched a season-high with 29 minutes played against the Falcons. He also had two points, while pulling down three boards.
 
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