Guilford College Men’s Basketball: Messiah 82, Guilford 72

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The undefeated Messiah Falcons sent Guilford to its third straight setback Saturday afternoon by an 82-72 score in a non-conference game at the Ragan Brown Field House.

The Quakers (9-3) jumped out to a quick start as they scored nine of the game’s first 11 points. But six 3-point baskets by the Falcons keyed a 20-9 run that gave Messiah a 31-20 lead with 7:11 remaining in the first half.

Guilford closed the first half on a 9-2 run of its own, punctuated by a three-pointer by Trever Hyatt to make it 40-39 Falcons at halftime.

The visitors shot a blistering 62% on shots behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes.

After intermission Messiah (10-0) proved it could take the ball to the hole, too. The visitors opened up a 16-point lead at the 7:30 mark, holding a 69-53 advantage.

But the Quakers fought back. Thanks to solid defense and better patience on offense, Guilford whittled away at the lead. A jumper by Jake Hopkins made it 73-70 Falcons with 2:05 to play.

After an offensive foul by Messiah, Guilford had a chance to tie the game but a three by Hyatt rimmed out.

The Falcons put away the game with a 9-2 run in the final 67 seconds.

Hyatt led the Quakers with a game-high 24 points. Zeb Richardson added 16 while Hopkins finished with a double-double, as he posted 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Taylor Groff led Messiah with 17 points, one of five scorers in double digits for the visitors. The Falcons shot 51% from the floor for the game, including 12-for-24 from behind the arc. Five different players hit three-pointers for the visitors.

Guilford finished 5-for-22 from three-point land.

The Quakers have a week off before returning to conference play with a road game at Bridgewater next Saturday at 2:00 pm.

Messiah vs Guilford
01/04/14 3:00 p.m. at Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House
At Greensboro, NC – Ragan-Brown Field House

MESSIAH – 82
GUILFORD – 72

MESSIAH (10-0): Taylor Groff 7-16 0-0 17; Scott Bolen 5-8 1-3 15; David Fernandez 4-8 4-6 12; Zac Hoy 4-8 0-0 10; Aaron DeVan 4-9 0-0 10; Brad Bolen 4-8 0-1 9; Geoff Boyle 3-3 0-2 6; Christyan DeVan 0-1 3-4 3; Tyler Yeaton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-61 8-16 82.

GUILFORD (9-3): HYATT, Trever 9-16 3-5 24; RICHARDSON, Zeb 7-12 2-3 16; HOPKINS, Jake 6-11 1-2 14; McCARTHY, Matt 2-10 7-10 12; SPAINHOUR, Josh 2-5 0-0 4; FURR, Alston 1-7 0-0 2; GREENE, Cole 0-0 0-0 0; HOUSTON, Zachary 0-2 0-0 0; BYRD, Michael 0-2 0-0 0; KOPPENHAVER, Will 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-67 13-20 72.

   Messiah.......................   40   42  -   82
   Guilford......................   39   33  -   72

3-point goals–Messiah 12-24 (Scott Bolen 4-5; Taylor Groff 3-8; Zac Hoy 2-4; Aaron DeVan 2-5; Brad Bolen 1-2), Guilford 5-22 (HYATT, Trever 3-7; HOPKINS, Jake 1-3; McCARTHY, Matt 1-7; FURR, Alston 0-1; HOUSTON, Zachary 0-1; BYRD, Michael 0-1; SPAINHOUR, Josh 0-2).
Fouled out–Messiah-None, Guilford-None.
Rebounds–Messiah 37 (Geoff Boyle 9), Guilford 41 (HOPKINS, Jake 11).
Assists–Messiah 18 (Zac Hoy 5), Guilford 14 (HOUSTON, Zachary 4).
Total fouls–Messiah 25, Guilford 17.
Technical fouls–Messiah-None, Guilford-None.
A-330

Nonconference game

Guilford is ranked 17th in the current D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll