ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, February 9, 2008

Messiah Edges Etown in Final Seconds, 71-67

Click here for the box score

GRANTHAM, Pa. -- Darryl Brown scored the go-ahead basket with 27 seconds left to push Messiah College to a 71-67 victory over Elizabethtown College in Commonwealth Conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.

Brown, who finished with 12 points, gave the Falcons (15-6 overall, 4-2 Commonwealth) a 68-67 lead, and three free throws in the final 13 seconds sealed the victory over the Blue Jays (14-6 overall, 1-5 Commonwealth).

Senior Mike Schatzmann (Paradise, PA/Pequea Valley) scored a game-high 30 points for Elizabethtown, including a career high-tying six three-pointers, and gave the Blue Jays their final lead of the game at 67-66 on a foul shot with 40 seconds left.

After Brown put the Falcons back on top with 27 seconds to play, Josh Curtin hit a free throw with 13 seconds left to extend the Messiah lead to 69-67. Playing for the final shot, the Blue Jays were whistled for an offensive foul with four seconds left, and John Boyd canned two free throws with three seconds on the clock to set the final score.

Neither team led by more than five points at any time in the second half, with six ties and nine lead changes. Overall, there were 14 lead changes and 12 ties in the contest, with the largest lead by Messiah at 25-19 with 6:50 left in the first half.

In all, four players reached double figures for Messiah, with Andy Hawk leading the way with 16 points, four rebounds and four assists. Boyd added 14 points, including four three-pointers, while Curtin tallied 13 points and Brown 12.

Schatzmann, who became the 10th player in program history to sink 100 career three-pointers on his first trey of the game in the opening 90 seconds, tied his career high of six three-pointers set against Scranton on Nov. 28.

Sophomore Mike Church (Peach Bottom, PA/Solanco) also reached double figures for the Blue Jays with 10 points to go along with a game-high six rebounds. Senior Chad Piersol (Elverson, PA/Owen J. Roberts) battled foul trouble all afternoon and scored just seven points before fouling out with 3:37 remaining.

Messiah shot 49 percent (25-for-51) from the field as a team, including 10-for-23 from three-point range, and hit 11-of-13 from the foul line. The Blue Jays were nearly as accurate from the floor, at 48.8 percent (20-for-41) while going 20-for-26 at the free-throw stripe.

MESSIAH COLLEGE 71, ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE 67
ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE (14-6, 1-5)
Mike Schatzmann 9-14 6-8 30; Mike Church 3-8 4-6 10; Chad Piersol 2-7 2-2 7; Bryce Rodgers 3-3 0-0 6; Phil Schaffer 2-4 1-2 5; Keith Fogel 0-1 4-4 4; Josh Houseal 1-3 2-2 4; Matt Stein 0-0 1-2 1; Ben Schlosser 0-0 0-0 0; Nick Kennedy 0-1 0-0 0; Joe Flanagan 0-0 0-0 0; Jordan Dirago 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-41 20-26 67.
MESSIAH COLLEGE (15-6, 4-2)
Andy Hawk 6-8 2-2 16; John Boyd 4-9 2-2 14; Josh Curtin 3-5 7-9 13; Darryl Brown 6-13 0-0 12; Jamie Yoder 3-8 0-0 9; Jason Miller 2-5 0-0 5; Drew Sneeringer 1-1 0-0 2; Ryan Nicholas 0-2 0-0 0; Colton Reitz 0-0 0-0 0; Kyle Snyder 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 11-13 71.
Elizabethtown College......... 31 36 - 67
Messiah College............... 30 41 - 71
3-point goals--Elizabethtown College 7-19 (Mike Schatzmann 6-10; Chad Piersol 1-4; Phil Schaffer 0-1; Josh Houseal 0-2; Mike Church 0-2), Messiah College 10-23 (John Boyd 4-7; Jamie Yoder 3-7; Andy Hawk 2-3; Jason Miller 1-2; Ryan Nicholas 0-1; Darryl Brown 0-3). Fouled out--Elizabethtown College-Chad Piersol, Messiah College-None. Rebounds--Elizabethtown College 24 (Mike Church 6), Messiah College 27 (Ryan Nicholas 4; Andy Hawk 4). Assists--Elizabethtown College 10 (Phil Schaffer 4), Messiah College 16 (Andy Hawk 4). Total fouls--Elizabethtown College 17, Messiah College 17. Technical fouls--Elizabethtown College-None, Messiah College-None. A-1800