BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College men's basketball team defeated Susquehanna University, 77-60, Saturday afternoon in Landmark Conference action. Senior guard D.J. Strayhorn led the way with 24 points, seven assists and three steals.
Junior guard Mike Perillo put the Crusaders (9-14, 5-7 Landmark) on the board first with a three from the corner. Strayhorn answered with his a long two from the corner for the Greyhounds (14-9, 6-6 Landmark). Freshman guard Brandon Hedley hit a three-pointer, but Strayhorn came back with another jumper to make the score 6-4, Susquehanna five minutes in.
Strayhorn knotted the game up at eight with a fade-away jumper from the top of the key. He then added a lay-in to put the Greyhounds up 10-8 seven minutes in. Senior forward Aaron Thieme drove to the hole for the lay-in for Moravian, but junior center Harley Sellinger answered with a layup of his own to knot the game at 14 with nine minutes left in the half. Hedley then put the Crusaders up 17-14 with a three from the conrer.
Junior center Cameron Cullen took a hail marry pass from Strayhorn and hit the turnaround hook shot. Senior guard Garrett Johnson then hit a three-pointer to make the score 23-21, Crusaders, with five minutes to play.
Both teams traded scores, before a three-pointer by junior guard Kenny Gula brought the Hounds within one point at 27-26 with 2:45 to play. Out of the timeout, Gula added a breakaway lay-in for the 28-27 lead. Perillo answered with a three-point play of a layup and a free throw for the 30-28 Crusaders advantage.
Johnson then hit the put-back layup to knot the game at 30 with 1:27 left in the half. Johnson came back with another lay-in on the next possession for the 32-30 lead with a minute remaining in the half. Sophomore guard Izel Dickerson added a three from the corner as time ran out in the half to put the Greyhounds up 35-32.
Moravian shot 45-percent from the field while Susquehanna shot 43-percent from the field for the half. The Greyhounds held the rebounding advantage at 20-16 while the Crusaders committed one less turnover. Strayhorn is leading Moravian at halftime with ten points, three assists and two steals while Perillo is leading Susquehanna with eight points and two rebounds.
Thieme hit two free throws to score the first points of the second half, but Perillo answered with layup. Strayhorn then hit a long two for the 39-34 lead a minute in. Two minutes later, a block by Cullen led to a transition layup for Thieme the other way for the 41-37 lead. Johnson added a three from the wing for the 44-37 lead four minutes in.
Senior guard Harbey Pannell made a layup seven minutes in, and added a free throw on the next possession to make the score 46-40, Greyhounds. Johnson connected on a no-look pass to Cullen, who tallied the easy layup for the 48-40 lead.
Strayhorn drilled a three from the wing to go up 51-42 with 11:36 to play. An English block then led to an easy layup for Cullen. Cullen added another lay-in on the next possession to cap a 7-0 run for the 55-42 lead with 10:43 to play in the contest.
Hedley ended the Hounds run with a three-pointer, but Gula responded with a three of his own on the next possession for the 58-45 lead with 9:46 to play. After a two by Strayhorn, Johnson drilled a three from the corner for the 63-47 lead with eight minutes to play. Senior forward J.T. Wilson came back with a three for Susquehanna.
With less than six minutes to play, Dickerson hit a NBA-range three-pointer for the 70-50 lead. Dickerson added a floater on the next possession for the 72-50 lead. After a layup and free throw by Sellingers, Strayhorn answered with a three-pointer from the corner for the 75-53 lead with 4:31 to play. Strayhorn then stole the pass from the Crusaders and took it to the hole for the easy lay-in, and the 77-53 lead with four minutes remaining. Moravian would go onto win 77-60.
Johnson added his first double-double of the season off of 13 points and ten rebounds to go with his three assists. Cullen put up 12 points and eight rebounds while Thieme had six points and six rebounds. Junior center Blake English put up five rebounds, four points and four blocks while Dickerson and Gula both had eight points.
The Crusaders were led by Perillo, who had 11 points and three rebounds. Hedley added 11 points and four assists while Sellinger had nine points, eight rebounds three assists and two blocks.
Moravian shot 48-percent from the field while Susquehanna shot 39-percent from the field for the game. The Greyhounds held the rebounding advantage at 43-31 while the Crusaders committed three less turnovers.
Moravian returns to the court on Wednesday, February 13th as they host to Landmark foe The University of Scranton. The contest is set for 7 p.m.
