HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Moravian College men's basketball team fell to Landmark Conference rival Juniata College, 80-54, Saturday evening.
Juniata jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after points from junior guard Kevin Stapleton and senior forward Nate Higgins. Sophomore guard Izel Dickerson hit the first bucket for Moravian. Junior forward Brian Scholly hit a three for the Eagles for the 7-2 lead two minutes in.
Senior guard D.J. Strayhorn added a lay-in to make the score 16-5, Juniata, eight minutes in. Senior forward Aaron Thieme hit a layup two minutes later, and Dickerson came back with another lay-in to put the score at 24-9 with 8:40 to play. Scholly answered with a three-pointer a minute later for the 27-9 lead.
Junior center Cameron Cullen added back-to-back layups to end the half for Moravian as Juniata took a 43-15 lead into the locker room.
Scholly started the second with a three from the wing for the Eagles. Cullen answered with two free throws. Juniata extended its lead to 55-17 before a deep three-pointer by Dickerson to put the score at 55-20.
Freshman forward Matt Bosch and Strayhorn hit back-to-back shots to make the score 67-30 with 8:41 remaining in the game. Junior guard Lucas Mellott answered with a lay-in for the Eagles.
The Greyhounds then went on a 20-0 run that put the score at 71-50 with five minutes to play. It started with back-to-back three's from Strayhorn and junior guard Mike Bonavita. Freshman guard Jarrod Dilts added a jumper that was followed by another three from Bonavita and two free throws by sophomore forward Garrett Kashmer. Kashmer then hit a lay-in, and sophomore guard Hunter Guard added a lay-in and a three-pointer.
Freshman guard Erik Ragusa hit a jumper for Juniata to end Moravian's run. Kashmer came back with a three from the corner to make the score 73-53 with 2:35 to play. That would be all the Greyhounds had left as they fell to the Eagles 80-54.
Dickerson led the Greyhounds with nine points. Kashmer added seven points while Strayhorn had nine points. Cullen added six points and four rebounds while Bonavita had six points.
Scholly led Juniata with 18 points and six rebounds. Stapleton added 13 points, five rebounds and three assists while junior guard Jeremy Hays had 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals.
Moravian shot 34-percent from the field while Juniata shot 46-percent from the field for the game. The Eagles held the edge in rebounds at 36-34 while committing 11 less turnovers.
Moravian returns to the court on Wednesday, February 6th as they travel to Landmark Conference foe The United States Merchant Marine Academy. The contest is set for 7 p.m.
