BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College men's basketball team won the 36th Annual Roosevelt's Greyhound Classic on Sunday afternoon by defeating John Jay (N.Y.) College 66-53 in the championship game in Johnston Hall.
The championship is the 17th in the 36-year history of the annual winter tournament, and third in the last four.
Senior center Cameron Cullen was named the tournament MVP after turning in a double-double effort of a season-high 18 points and 10 rebounds in the title game. Fellow senior and center Blake English was selected to the All-Tournament Team with a 15-point, seven-rebound and three-block performance versus John Jay.
"It was a total team effort," said Cullen, who recorded his second double-double of the season and seventh of his career. "Everyone chipped in and that teamwork set us in the right direction in the second half. It was also a great defensive effort. We felt we had to get it done in front of our home fans."
Sophomore forward Matt Bosch added 11 points, while senior guard Kenny Gula hit two three-pointers en route to eight points, five rebounds and three assists.
The game was closely contested early with four ties and five lead changes, but the Greyhounds didn't get on the board until 3:30 into the game. The Bloodhounds got out to a hot start, however, taking the opening tipoff down for a fast break layup and adding a three-point play for the 5-0 lead before the first minute was through.
English broke a four-minute Moravian scoreless drought with a personal six-point run. His streaking layup off a Gula assist broke the silence, and the senior big man made 1-of-2 from the free throw line on the Greyhounds' next possession after an intentional foul. English would make a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 12-10 with 9:32 left in the half.
John Jay had a quiet stretch of its own in the first half as 3:49 ticked away without a point. The Bloodhounds took a 15-10 lead with a trey, but the advantage was erased by another four points from English, who reached double-figures for the ninth time this season with 5:21 left in the half.
The Greyhounds took their first lead of the game with 2:52 remaining in the opening half thanks to a Cullen layup off a Garrett Kashmer assist.
"It was a nice step up for me after a disappointing start to my season," Cullen said of his season-high 18 points. "I'm a senior and I realize any game can be my last. So I need to start leaving it all out there like I did today and hopefully I can top that total in the near future."
With the score tied at 29-29 and only five seconds left on the first-half clock, Kashmer found Cullen under the basket for a buzzer-beating finger roll as the Greyhounds took a 31-29 lead into halftime.
Freshman guard Sean Hanna scored his first points of the game to start the second half with a three-pointer. The rookie would throw in another trey two minutes later for a 39-31 Moravian lead.
Back-to-back layups from Bosch and freshman guard Isaiah Jennings finished a 13-4 scoring run to open the final 20 minutes of the Greyhound Classic. Bosch's lay in was the result of a diving English steal of a Bloodhounds inbound pass.
John Jay crept back into the contest as the Greyhounds struggled with a thin backcourt. Junior point guard Izel Dickerson missed the entirety of the Classic with an injury, and Jennings left the game midway through the second half. The remaining guards, Hanna and sophomore Jarrod Dilts each accumulated four personal fouls with just over nine minutes remaining in the game.
The Greyhound frontcourt helped maintain the lead behind a Bosch layup and sure shooting from the free throw line from English.
With five minutes remaining, the Bloodhounds cut the deficit to 55-52 with a shot from beyond the arc, but Cullen responded with two free throws. The senior co-captain finished with a 10-for-12 mark from the charity stripe in the Classic championship.
"We have to protect home court," said Cullen, who won three of the four Greyhound Classics he participated in. "This is our tournament and this senior class wants to show the underclassman how important it is to win it. John Jay is a great team and we had something to prove today."
Hanna was active down the stretch in holding the lead. He assisted Bosch's layup to take a 59-53 lead and added a free throw with two minutes left to hold a 60-53 advantage.
Cullen, Bosch and Gula combined on five more freebies in the final minute to ice the championship victory.
The Greyhounds only shot 61 percent (25-for-41) from the free throw, but dominated the battles down low with a 24-16 advantage in the paint and a 48-37 lead in rebounding. They also finished the game with a 35.3 percent field goal percentage while holding the Bloodhounds to .327 shooting from the floor.
The Bloodhounds' Kris Owens (22 points, six rebounds) and Korede Griffith (13 points) were named to the All-Tournament Team after the runner-up finish.
Moravian returns to the hardwood for the continuation of Landmark Conference play on Saturday when they host Goucher College on Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. in Johnston Hall.
