ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Moravian College men's basketball team erased a 12-point deficit at Lebanon Valley College on Saturday afternoon, but the comeback fell a basket short as the Dutchmen defeated the Greyhounds 60-57 in a non-conference contest.
The Greyhounds (1-3) outscored the Dutchmen 31-28 in the second half on the back of a team-high 13 points from sophomore swingman Jarrod Dilts, who converted four three-point field goals in the first half and pulled down five rebounds in the loss.
Junior point guard Izel Dickerson (12 points) got the three-point play in the final minute of the contest to bring the LVC advantage to 58-57 with only 42 seconds remaining in the game. The Dutchmen went to the line to try to close out the game with one second left and converted 2-of-3 to ice the contest.
"We had a similar problem today as we did in the previous game in that we were ineffective offensively," said head coach Jim Walker. "We were never able to get basket after basket. As a result, we weren't able to take a lead. We need those runs. We were also in foul trouble for most of the game, which never helps our ability to run our game plan."
The Greyhounds shot 39 percent from the floor on Saturday, but won the battle in the paint 30-18 and only surrendered nine points off turnovers.
Dickerson came through on another and-one play just a minute earlier to bring the Hounds within two points, but the Dutchmen stretched the lead to four with two successful free throws. The junior point guard also tied his career high in assists with four.
Moravian failed to take a lead in Saturday's contest, but Dickerson's layup early in the second half drew the Greyhounds even for the first time at 32-32. Lebanon Valley would score the next four points, but senior center Blake English got a layup and the good foul shot to bring the Hounds within one. The Dutchmen seemed to always have the answer, however, and again took a six point lead at 43-37 with 12:10 remaining in the game.
The Hounds never lied down as they tied the game again at 47-47 with 6:57 remaining on a layup by freshman forward Brandon McGuire, but a three-pointer and a layup gave the Dutchmen a 52-47 lead. With both teams in the foul bonus, the Hounds and Dutchmen traded free throws down the stretch as Lebanon Valley went on to win its first game of the season.
McGuire recorded his best point total of his rookie season with nine, including a 3-4 mark from the charity stripe, and added six rebounds. Senior center Cameron Cullen and freshman guard Isaiah Jennings each added six points for Moravian. Sophomore forward Matt Bosch made his first appearance of the season after returning from an injury and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Dilts recorded his season best with 13 points and his five rebounds are a career-high.
"Jarrod was very effective in finding the right spot and getting open," Walker said. "The guys got him the ball and he made the shots. It was good to see."
Lebanon Valley was paced by four different scorers in double digits, with Kyler Burke leading the way with 17 points on 6-11 shooting. Kevin Agnew netted 13, Joey Giangiobbe was 8-8 from the free throw line and scored 12 points, and Luke Berguson scored 10 points in the Dutchmen win.
Moravian completes a two-game road stint at DeSales University on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. before returning home to Johnston Hall on Sunday, Dec. 1 to take on Berkeley (N.J.) College at 3 p.m. on Parents' Day.
