In their last game before Landmark Conference play begins, the Elizabethtown Blue Jays men’s basketball team looked to capitalize on their non-conference schedule with a record above .500 to begin the season against the Messiah Falcons on Saturday, Nov. 16.
Messiah and Etown were neck and neck in the first half, with either side only leading by five points before the half. Junior guard Austin Finarelli kickstarted the Blue Jays early with 10 points in the first half, followed by junior guard Reese Zeigler who had seven of his own.
Etown held only a three point lead going into the half, however, the offense sparked in the middle of the second half with a 13-0 run to put the Blue Jays ahead by 13. Senior guard Rance Russo led the team in the second half with 13 points, followed by Finarelli with 12 points. Messiah attempted to climb back from the deficit that had developed in the second, but it was too late as the Falcons offense screeched to a halt as Etown had bested Messiah 88-68 at home.
Finarelli led the scoring for Etown once again with 22 points and 50% shooting from the field on the afternoon. Russo put together an 18 point and six rebound performance, also shooting 50% over 30 minutes for Etown. Junior guard EJ Finney had a solid showing with four points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and four blocks on two-for-three shooting from the floor.
Messiah was led by sophomore guard Christian Jackson with 23 points on eight for 15 shooting from the field. Junior guards Ethan Johnson and Caleb Lyles were part of the supporting cast for Messiah with 14 and 10 points for the Falcons respectively.
Etown did a great job stopping Messiah on defense, limiting the Falcons to only 23% from three and only 43% from the floor. Elizabethtown as a team shot 56% from the field and 38% from three, including three triples by Austin Finarelli. The bench for Etown played a crucial part in the victory this weekend, outscoring Messiah 32-7, led by sophomore forward MJ Branker with 11 points and junior guard Ben Stanton with eight points.
After another strong performance, Finarelli leads the team in points, averaging 28.3 points per game on 57% shooting from the field and 47% from three. Etown moves into the upcoming week with their first Landmark Conference play against Catholic University at Elizabethtown on Wednesday night.
