BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College men's basketball team needed 20 minutes to shake off the cold from this weekend's Nor'easter, but the Greyhounds eventually turned up the heat in the second half to defeat The United States Merchant Marine Academy, 72-57, on Sunday afternoon in Landmark Conference action in Johnston Hall.

The Greyhounds (4-5, 1-1 Landmark Conference) took a slim 25-22 lead into halftime after some poor shooting from both sides. Moravian responded with a 15-4 run to open the second half, leading to a 47-35 second-half advantage.

"One thing we talked about before the game was our offensive effectiveness," head coach Jim Walker said. "It's something we've struggled with in our last two games, but they corrected that in today's game. We had a great week of practice leading into the game and we saw some great things on the offensive end and it helped us win our first conference game."

Junior guard Izel Dickerson led all scorers with 20 points, and added five rebounds and a game-high four assists. Sophomore forward Matt Bosch scored 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and a 5-for-7 mark from the free throw line. Senior center Blake English notched Moravian's second double-double effort of the season with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. The veteran big man also added two blocks and a steal.

"We struggled a bit in the first half," English said. "We noticed there was a turning point in the game when we started working together on defense and getting some stops. That led to some good opportunities on offense, and we were able to keep the momentum going into the second half."

Dickerson paced the Greyhound offense early, scoring 12 of Moravian's first 17 points, including a pop-and-stop three-pointer and a 2-for-2 mark from the free throw line.

Bosch's steal and ensuing fast-break layup gave the Greyhounds their biggest lead of the half at 19-14.

USMMA played at The University of Scranton on Saturday night, and traveled through the aftermath of the Nor'easter to make the 2 p.m. tipoff on Sunday. The Mariners were still shaking off the cold early in the game, shooting only 28.6 percent from the floor in the first half.

Sophomore swingman Jarrod Dilts ended a four-minute scoring drought with his first bucket of the game with 3:43 left in the first half. Bosch hit two free throws to set the halftime score at 25-22.

Moravian began the second half on a 15-4 run, capped by a Dilts' three-pointer for the 40-30 lead with 14 minutes left in the game.

The Greyhounds took their first commanding lead of the game with 12 minutes left when English's block started a fast break finished by a crisp Isaiah Jennings pass to Dickerson, who converted the reverse layup to make it 44-32.

Moravian used another scoring run (9-3) to pull away midway through the second half. English reached his double-double by hitting a jumper for the 52-38 lead before Dilts hit another game-changing trey to give the Hounds a 55-39 advantage.

Cullen made a heads up play with just less than three minute left, assisting a fast break layup by junior forward Garrett Kashmer, which served as the dagger giving Moravian a 64-45 lead. Cullen was defended under his rim and made a no-look pass to a streaking Kashmer, who converted the bucket.

The Greyhounds were solid from the free throw line down the stretch, making 6-of-6 to help maintain the lead. As a team, Moravian was 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the line.

With the comfortable lead in the final minutes, a group of hard-working reserves saw some minutes in Johnston Hall. Freshman guard Sean Hanna hit a three-pointer and his classmate Tom Cicalese converted four free throws in the closing moments of Sunday's contest.

A convincing win came at the perfect time for the Greyhounds, who head into the winter break after Sunday's game.

"It was important to get a win today before the break," English said. "It's also vital getting our first Landmark win. It's a tough conference and a long season, so a victory like this will go a long way in gaining confidence along the way."

Moravian returns to action in the new year when they host the 36th annual Roosevelt's Greyhound Classic on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 4-5. The Greyhounds' first round game is against Penn State-Lehigh Valley on Saturday. Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m. They will advance to the Consolation/Championship round on Sunday against RPI or John Jay College at 1 or 3 p.m.