BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian College resumes its look back at its 2013-14 athletic campaign with the No. 5 highlight in the Top 10 Exciting Games & Fantastic Finishes – the men's basketball team picking up its first win of the season, 63-61, over Mount Saint Mary (N.Y.) College on a half-court buzzer-beater.
The Greyhounds and the Knights were playing in the consolation game of the Blue Jay Invitational on Saturday, November 16 at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The contest was one of two that Moravian won in the final five seconds in 2013-14, and one of the Greyhounds' nine games decided by five points or less during the campaign with the Hounds posting a 7-2 mark in those contests.
The game belonged to Mt. St. Mary early with the Knights opening up a 12-0 lead in the first six minutes of action.
"We took two timeouts before the bleeding stopped," said Head Coach Jim Walker. "We emphasized taking care of the ball since we had turned the ball over six times in that six-minute, 12-0 stretch. The other thing we emphasized was getting the ball into the post which was a strength for us and part of the game plan."
Moravian would eventually close that gap to just four points, 17-13, on a three-pointer by senior center Blake English with just under seven minutes until the intermission. The Greyhounds still trailed by six points, 28-22, at halftime.
English scored on a put back basket four minutes into the second half to pull the Hounds within a point, 32-31, before junior guard Izel Dickerson finally put Moravian in front for the first time in the game with a three-pointer at 15:29 for a 34-32 advantage. The Greyhounds eventually pushed that lead to five points, 41-36, after a three-pointer by senior guard Kenny Gula with 11:31 remaining.
The Knights retook the lead, 49-48, with eight minutes to play but the Hounds scored six straight points to go back in front, 54-49, with 5:06 on the clock after sophomore guard Jarrod Dilts hit two-of-three free throws. Mt. St. Mary would answer again with a 7-0 run to regain a two-point edge, 56-54, with 2:25 to play.
"What I remember most was what a great game it had become," recalled Walker when asked about the end of the contest. "I kept thinking that the team with the last shot will win the game."
Moravian went nearly three and a half minutes without scoring before Dilts tied the game at 56-56 with 1:44 on the clock, and English gave the Hounds a 58-56 lead on a jumper with just 54 seconds remaining.
Mt. Saint Mary took the lead back, 59-58, on a three-pointer with 22 seconds to play but the advantage wouldn't last long as Dickerson put the Greyhounds back on top, 60-59, with a jumper with six ticks showing on the clock.
"The final minute was hectic," explained Dickerson. "We were down one with about 30 seconds left and we needed a good shot. I ran the play but they overplayed me so I did the best I could to improvise and get open. Once I had the ball, I just made a good basketball play and got a great look at a pull up jumper and nailed it. When that happened in my mind I thought it was game."
The Knights immediately drove the length of the floor to get a lay-up attempt that missed but the follow up didn't giving Mt. St. Mary a 61-60 lead with just one tick left of the scoreboard clock.
"They came down and scored but I was still as confident as before we were winning that game," Dickerson commented.
The Greyhounds took a timeout to draw up a half-court play, inserting junior forward Garrett Kashmer to throw the long inbounds pass.
"We have a play for this situation which we practice often and has worked before," explained Walker. "We call it L for "long". We will usually throw it longer to one of our big men with one second left but we decided to throw it to midcourt to Izel which is what we will do with more time on the clock. We made a good choice to put Garrett Kashmer into the game because he had shown a quarterback's arm during practice."
Dickerson would get the pass from Kashmer near mid-court, take one dribble and unleash a shot just before the buzzer that dropped in for the three points and the Greyhounds' victory.
"Coach called the play and we executed it well," stated Dickerson. "I can't say I knew the final shot was going to be good right away, but it felt great when it left my hand and about half way I knew it was good. Then, when the team ran on the floor it was it was a mixture of excitement and relief – excitement for the game winning shot and actually winning the game, and relief for not starting 0-2 on the season."
You can watch the highlight of the final play at http://instagram.com/p/g3hm2Dx3uA/?modal=true.
"Not before it went through," commented Walker when asked when he knew Dickerson's shot was going hit nothing but net. "I was excited when Izel caught the ball because we had run the play correctly to get a shot."
You can check out the original game day story at http://moraviansports.com/sports/mbkb/2013-14/releases/20131116tj6mpj.
Top 10 Exciting Games & Fantastic Finishes of 2013-14
#10 – Field Hockey Wins Back to Back Overtime Games
#9 – Softball Walks Off in 10th to Earn Split with Catholic
#8 – Baseball Walks Off Twice to Sweep Catholic
#7 – Football Scores 52 Points in Wild Win over F&M
#6 – Baseball Sweeps Susquehanna in Two Extra Inning Walk Offs
#5 – Men's Basketball Defeats Mt. St. Mary on Half Court Buzzer Beater
#4 – TBA
#3 – TBA
#2 – TBA
#1 – TBA
