BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College men's basketball team defeated Landmark Conference foe The United States Merchant Marine Academy, 89-58, Saturday afternoon. The Greyhounds broke the school-record for three-pointers in a single game with 18 total against the Mariners.
Moravian improved to 6-1, which is the teams' best start since the 2002-03 season, while remaining undefeated in conference action at 2-0.
Junior center Cameron Cullen got the first basket of the game after a turnaround hook shot. Junior forward Nick Sergio recorded the Mariners first points after two made free throws. A put-back layup from freshman forward Andrew Williams gave USMMA its first lead at 4-2, two minutes in. A deep three-pointer from senior guard D.J. Strayhorn put the Greyhounds up 5-4. Senior guard Garrett Johnson then went for the layup while getting fouled. He converted the three-point play for an 8-4 lead four minutes in.
Sophomore guard Izel Dickerson then hit a three from the corner to put Moravian up 11-6 six minutes into the game. Cullen then hit a baseline jumper, but junior forward Reed Buck responded with a three from the corner to make the score 13-9, Hounds, eight minutes into the contest. Back-to-back buckets from Williams and Buck knotted the game up at 13 with 11 minutes to play in the half.
A three-pointer as Dickerson was falling down put Moravian back on top. Junior guard Kenny Gula then hit a three on the next possession as Moravian went up 19-13 with nine minutes to play in the first half. Classmate center Blake English joined the action with a three-pointer to put the Greyhounds up 22-13.
Free throws from junior guard Zach Karczewski and a three from Buck cut Moravian's lead to 22-18 with seven minutes remaining in the half. A put-back from English ended Merchant Marine's run. Johnson made the score 26-20 after slicing through the lane for the layup with five minutes left in the half. After a layup from Sergio, English answered with a three from the corner to make the score 29-22.
After exchanging points, a deep three-pointer from Gula gave Moravian its first double-digit lead of the game at 36-24 with 2:13 left in the half. Johnson turned a steal from English into three more points for the Hounds for 39-24 lead with 1:32 to play in the first half. Williams then went put up a last second layup to make the score 39-28, Moravian at halftime.
The Greyhounds shot 50-percent from the field in the first half, including 53-percent (8-for-15) from beyond the arc. Both teams tallied 15 rebounds in the half while Moravian committed three less turnovers. Dickerson led the Hounds with ten points in the first half while Williams led the Mariners with eight points for four boards.
Cullen started the second half with a layup for Moravian. Freshman guard George Hatzioannides and Sergio answered with layups of their own to make the score 41-32 one minute in. Senior forward Aaron Thieme (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) then drilled an open three for the 46-32 lead. Strayhorn then hit a fade-away jumper for the 48-32 lead, three minutes into the second half. Gula made it a 51-32 game after a layup inside.
Freshman guard David Smith ended the Greyhounds run with a three from the corner to make the score 51-35. Strayhorn answered with a rainbow three to push the lead back to 19 at 54-35 with 14:32 remaining in the game.
After exchanging scores, Cullen took it to the basket for the layup while drawing the foul. He converted on three-point play for a 61-41 lead with 8:32 left in the game. Two minutes later, Johnson hit the open three-pointer from the wing to make the score 65-43. Freshman guard Jarrod Dilts dialed up from three-point range to put Moravian up 68-45 with 5:20 to play in the contest. That would be it for Merchant Marine as the Greyhounds went onto win 89-58.
Johnson put up 12 points, five assists and three rebounds while Cullen added 11 points and four boards. Dickerson had ten points while junior guard Mike Bonavita tallied 12 points on four three's. Gula added nine points and five rebounds while Strayhorn had eight points and three assists. English put up ten points, four rebounds and two blocks while Thieme had five points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Williams led the Mariners with 14 points and nine rebounds while Sergio had 13 points and three boards. Buck finished with ten points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals while Karczewski added eight points and five boards.
The Greyhounds shot 48-percent from the field, including 55-percent (18-for-33) from beyond the arc. The Mariners shot 42-percent from the field for the contest. Moravian held the rebounding edge at 38-32 while committing five less turnovers.
The Greyhounds return to the court on Sunday, December 16th as they travel to rival Muhlenberg College for the Matte Award Game. The contest is scheduled for 4 p.m.