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By Jeffrey Kauffman; Sentinel Reporter; sportsdoor@cumberlink.com

Last updated: Thursday, November 29, 2007 12:53 AM EST

Two perennial NCAA Division 3 powerhouses collided at Brubaker Auditorium at Messiah college Wednesday, and the Falcons came out on top against the University of Scranton 61-53.

Messiah’s defense dictated the tempo as Messiah beat Scranton for the first time in school history. Scranton defeated the Falcons at Messiah 64-46 in 2004, and edged the Falcons in the NCAA Tournament in 2005, 64-43, at Scranton.

Messiah’s defense forced 20 turnovers and several travel violations, allowing the Lady Royals just one shot over the final two minutes of the contest.

“We want to be a pressing team, but it is tough to press a good team like that,” said Messiah head coach Mike Miller. “They were looking to attack.

“They were averaging 77 points and we held them 20 points under that. Our depth was critical and our forwards played very well tonight. We didn’t finish the way we are capable and we weren’t happy about that. We are rebounding so much better this year and this group of kids is so unselfish.”

The first seven minutes were back and forth, but Messiah took a 14-8 lead on a Nikki Lobach 3-point play.

The Royals rallied and took a 22-18 lead with 6:09 left in the opening half.

Lobach, a senior from Southwestern in Hanover, exploded and tallied three buckets and the Falcons went into the locker room with a 27-23 advantage.

Lobach led the Falcons with 27 points.

Messiah (0-0 Commonwealth, 4-0 overall) stretched the lead to 10 as Ashley Brooks took a hit in the lane and, as she was falling down, got the ball on the glass and in the basket. She completed the 3-point play for a 34-24 Falcons lead.

Messiah extended its lead to 15 as Julie Henninger, of Carlisle, scored on a breakaway lay-up. Henninger tallied four points and added two rebounds and two assists.

Scranton cut the margin to eight as Molly Klusek hit a putback in the lane. Ryan Mooney hit a jumper for the Royals, and the Messiah lead was down to just six points with a little less than three minutes left.

That was, however, as close as Scranton could get, as the Messiah defense clamped down and allowed no clean passes and no clean looks at the basket.

“This was a big win for us,” said Lobach. “We were excited as this was our first big test. The game plan was to disrupt them and not let them run and I think we did a good job tonight.”

Freshman Kourtney Ehly of Boiling Springs contributed some pressure defense and a rebound in limited minutes.

Messiah travels to Salisbury, Md. for the Salisbury Tournament against Allegheny College on Friday night.