MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – Senior
David Kearney scored a season-high 27 points to lead the McDaniel College men's basketball team to a 70-67 road win over Messiah on Wednesday night.
Kearney bested his previous high of 22 points scored against Penn State Berks on Nov. 18. He finished three points shy of tying his career-high for the Green Terror (5-2), leading the team to its first road win of the season.
The Falcons (2-5) started strong with a 6-0 run to begin the contest. McDaniel responded with seven straight points, capped off by a three-point play for junior
Bruce Black. A Kearney jumper with 13:20 left in the first half gave McDaniel a 18-17 lead, but both teams battled to a back-and-forth finish. Late free throws from senior
Matt Kearney put the Green Terror ahead by three entering halftime, 36-33.
Both teams traded baskets again to begin the second half, as the first 12 minutes featured eight lead changes and five ties. Free throws from Kearney broke a 50-50 tie with 8:30 to play, and a layup from junior
Ryan Shaffer gave McDaniel a nine-point cushion at the 5:31 mark.
The lead grew to 10 following a Kearney three-pointer, but Messiah fought back and eventually cut the deficit to one after two free throws with 15 seconds left. Sophomore
Ashenafi Stuart hit two late free throws with 13 seconds remaining to make the score 70-67, and the Green Terror held off a last-second three-pointer to win.
Kearney finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals while making all six of his foul shots. Stuart and Black tied for second on the team with nine points each while sophomore
Kaydin Ford scored a career-high eight points off the bench.
The Green Terror forced 18 Falcon turnovers and held Messiah to 40.4 percent shooting for the game, despite losing the rebounding battle 35-30. McDaniel scored 22 points off turnovers and controlled the paint, outscoring the Falcons 34-22.
McDaniel takes a two-week break before traveling to Cairn to battle the Highlanders on Dec. 17. Tip-off is slated for 3 pm.
