GETTYSBURG, Pa. --- Sophomore forward Brandon McGuire had the first double-double of his career with 23 points and 11 rebounds and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team; however, the Moravian College men's basketball team fell to Hood College, 77-73, in the consolation game of the Gettysburg College Tip-Off Tournament Sunday afternoon.
McGuire's totals were both career highs, and he shot 11-of-16 from the floor to lead three Greyhounds in double figures. Sophomore guard Sean Hanna hit double digits for the first time in his career with 15 points off the bench on 6-of-10 shooting while senior guard Izel Dickerson tossed in 14 points with three of the Hounds' 10 three-pointers in the game.
Junior forward Nate Samanns netted a career-best nine points on a trio of shots from behind the arc while sophomore guard Isaiah Jennings also scored nine points to go along with a career-high seven assists. Senior forward Garrett Kashmer had career-highs with six assists and four blocked shots to go with six rebounds for Moravian while junior forward Ryan O'Neil pulled down five rebounds and added three points in his first collegiate action.
McGuire opened the game with a bucket on the Hounds' first possession of the game, and the contest went back-and-forth until the Blazers began to pull ahead with under 15 minutes left in the first half. Hood opened up a 13-6 lead but a three-point play by Dickerson and lay-ups from Hanna and McGuire tied the score at 13-13 with 11:03 before the intermission.
Hood moved back ahead before the Greyhounds reclaimed the lead, 19-18, with 6:43 on the clock on another basket from McGuire, who scored 12 of his 23 points in the opening 20 minutes of action. The lead would go back-and-forth for the rest of the half with a free throw by O'Neil tying the game at 27-27 as the team's headed to the locker room.
The Blazers scored first in the second half but Moravian jumped right back in front, 30-29, on a three-pointer from Samanns. Hood would start to pull away and eventually had a 10-point lead, 51-41, with 11:49 left in the contest. The Greyhounds countered with an 18-7 run over the next five and a half minutes to move back in front 59-58 on a lay-up from Jennings with 6:03 to go.
Over the next three and a half minutes, Hood had a slim lead or the score was tied with O'Neil tying the contest for the final time at 70-70 with 2:34 remaining. Jennings connected on a three-pointer at the 1:08 mark that had the Hounds down by a point, 74-73, but the Greyhounds were unable to make any of their final four shots in the last 37 seconds of action.
Moravian will continue its season-opening road trip with a non-conference game at Centenary College on Wednesday, November 19 tipping off at 7:00 p.m.
