BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College men's basketball team is one game away from winning its second straight Roosevelt's Greyhound Classic and third in the last four years of the 36-year old tournament after defeating Penn State-Lehigh Valley 90-64 in the first round on Saturday night at Johnston Hall.
The Greyhounds (5-5) advanced to its eighth straight Greyhound Classic championship game.
Five Greyhounds scored in double-figures, led by senior center Blake English's 16 points. He recorded the third double-double of his career by grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds in the first-round victory. Junior forward Garrett Kashmer reached double-figures for only the third time by dropping 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting from the floor.
Senior guard Kenny Gula returned from a six-game absence due to injury with 13 points, while sophomore swingman Jarrod Dilts tossed in three treys for his 11 points. Senior center Cameron Cullen added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go with four rebounds.
"Both teams tonight were in a tough position after having off for a long time," head coach Jim Walker said. "With that considered, I was pleased that we were able to execute effective offense and consistent defense to win this game tonight."
The Greyhounds traded baskets with the Nittany Lions (5-6) during a closely-contested opening 10 minutes. Moravian took the lead for good when Gula gave his side an early advantage with his first of two three-pointers on Saturday.
English hit a three-pointer and two freebies as the Hounds went on a 13-3 run down the stretch of the first half. Moravian took a 34-26 lead into halftime. Penn State-Lehigh Valley shot 42 percent in the opening half from three-point range, its deadliest area of the court. That percentage would drop to 37 by game's end.
"Our focus was trying to stop their three-point shot," Walker said. "It wasn't our best effort, but we didn't let them go on any runs with the long ball."
Both sides again traded baskets to start the second half before Moravian put together another scoring run. This one was led by the front court of Cullen and English as the lead was stretched to 50-37.
"I thought our frontcourt played very well," Walker said. "I was also impressed that Kenny Gula had his best game of the season after missing six games."
The Greyhounds methodically pulled away in the second half behind 14 fast-break points.
Moravian made up for a .576 mark from the charity stripe with 46 points in the paint and a 51-37 rebounding advantage.
The championship game will feature the Greyhounds and the winner of the first round game between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and John Jay (N.Y.) College, played after the Moravian game on Saturday evening.
The consolation round begins at 1 p.m. in Johnston Hall on Sunday, followed by the championship at 3 p.m.
