HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Junior guard D.J. Strayhorn led Moravian to an 84-80 overtime victory over Landmark Conference opponent Juniata College Friday evening. Strayhorn shot 50-percent from the field on his way to tying his career-high in points with 28. He also had five boards and four steals.
Strayhorn would get Moravian on the board first with a jumper. Senior forward Jeff Cullinan would hit a deep three-pointer to push the Hounds lead to 5-2 just a minute in. After back-to-back three's from junior guard Garrett Johnson, Moravian would take an 11-4 lead with 17:22 remaining in the half. Sophomore guard Kevin Stapleton of the Eagles would respond with a three of his own to make the score 11-7 with 16:42 left.
Juniata would then go on a 8-0 with points scored by Stapleton, junior forward Nate Higgins, senior guard Dan Sekulski and freshman center Alex Mace to put the Eagles up 17-15 with 10:28 left in the half. Strayhorn would end the Eagles run with a layup to tie the game back at 17 with just under nine minutes to go in the first half. Senior center Austin Ankney would hit a layup and junior guard Alex Raymond hit a three-pointer to put Juniata up 22-17 with 6:50 remaining.
Both teams would exchange buckets until Raymond hit a deep three for the Eagles to push their lead to 27-21 with 5:28 left in the half. Moravian would battle with Juniata the rest of the half as the Eagles would take a 39-30 lead into the locker room.
The Greyhounds shot 48-percent from the field while Juniata shot 47-percent from the field in the first half. Both teams brought down 15 rebounds, but the Greyhounds had 12 turnovers compared to the Eagles six in the half. Johnson led Moravian with eight points and two assists while Stapleton led Juniata with eight points and two rebounds in the first half.
The Greyhounds would get on the board first in the second half with a layup from freshman guard Izel Dickerson. Sophomore guard Kenny Gula cut the Eagles lead to five points with a layup on the next possession, but Stapleton answered with a three-pointer of his own to make the score 42-34 three minutes into the second half.
Moravian would go on a 10-0 that included a three pointer from sophomore forward Cameron Cullen and back-to-back layups from Cullinan to give the Greyhounds a 49-46 lead with ten minutes remaining in the game. Higgins ended Moravian's run with a layup of his own to make the score 49-48 with 9:15 left in the second half.
With two made free throws from Strayhorn the Greyhounds extended their lead to 55-51, but Stapleton responded right away with a rainbow three to make the score 55-54 with 6:25 remaining the game. Raymond hit another three on the next possession to give Juniata the lead back at 57-55.
Gula gave the lead back to Moravian with a layup with just under five minutes left, but Ankney tied the game back up with layup of his seconds later. Sophomore guard Jeremy Hays got the lead back for the Eagles, but a three-pointer from Strayhorn with 3:23 left in the contest put Moravian back on top 63-61. Strayhorn would put the Hounds up by three with 1:20 to go but 15 seconds later Hays nailed a three to cut the lead to 65-64, Moravian.
With 38 seconds to go Strayhorn would hit a jumper to make the score 67-64. Gula would push the Hounds lead to 69-64 with 22 seconds remaining. With three seconds remaining in the regulation Stapleton hit a three-pointer to knot the game at 69. Dickerson would throw up a shot before the buzzer, but the two teams go into overtime to finish this one.
Stapleton would get Juniata on the board first in overtime, but Strayhorn tied the game back up at 71 with just under four minutes left. With under three minutes left sophomore forward Brian Scholly hit a three-pointer to put the Eagles up by three.
Junior forward Aaron Thieme and Johnson hit back-to-back layups to give Moravian a 77-76 lead at the two minute mark of overtime. Johnson would make another layup on the next possession to give the Hounds a four point lead with a minute and half left. The Greyhounds would make a couple free throws to give them an 82-78 lead, but Raymond made a layup with nine seconds to go in overtime to cut that lead to two points. The Eagles would be forced to foul in the final seconds, and Strayhorn would head to the line and make both free throws. Raymond would go for a last second shot, but was unsuccessful as Moravian would go onto win 84-80.
Gula put up 16 points on the night while Johnson had 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Cullinan tallied 13 points and four rebounds while Thieme had six points and four boards.
Stapleton led Juniata with 19 points and six rebounds while Raymond had 15 points and six assists. Scholly put up 15 points and eight rebounds while Ankney had six points.
The Greyhounds shot 48-percent from the field while the Eagles shot 45-percent from the field in the game. Moravian held the edge in rebounds at 37 to 33, but Juniata had six fewer turnovers on the night.
Moravian returns to action tomorrow, January 21st when they travel to conference foe Susquehanna University. The contest is scheduled for 2 p.m.