BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team defeated Landmark Conference opponent Elizabethtown College, 61-60, with 4.6 seconds left on a driving lay-up by senior guard Izel Dickerson in the close thriller in Johnston Hall.
"We were fortunate today," commented Head Coach Jim Walker. "We have had some tough luck this year and games haven't always gone are way and tonight that changed. We worked really hard on the pressure defense which is something we don't do a lot of and I was really impressed with hard we made it for them to get the ball in."
Dickerson led the Greyhounds with 18 points, narrowing down the count to becoming the 20th player in program history to score 1,000 points to just five. Dickerson added three assists and three steals on the night. Sophomore forward Brandon McGuire earned his ninth double-double with 13 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Freshman forward Riley Hengler scored seven points, going a perfect 5-of-5 from the foul line. Three Hounds contributed six points including sophomore guard Isaiah Jennings, who had three rebounds, two assists and two steals while junior guard Jarrod Dilts had three rebounds, four assists and a block and sophomore guard Sean Hanna had three assists and two steals.
Dilts knocked down a three to get the first points for the Blue and Grey. Trading points, Dickerson would also hit a three to keep it a one point game with 16:09 on the clock. The Blue Jays answered back right away taking a five point lead with 14:12 to play in the first half. Back-to-back three pointers by Dickerson and Hanna kept the deficit to one and on the next trip down the court freshman guard Jack Aussenheimer gave the Hounds the lead, 16-15, with 10:31 left in the first half.
Jennings would tie the game with a three, as the teams would trade points before back-to-back layups from McGurie gave the Greyhounds the lead, 26-24, with 4:48 until halftime. Trading points again, Dickerson would hit a layup at the buzzer to head to halftime with Moravian trailing by two, 33-31.
Dickerson came out with a hot hand, knocking down a three to give the Blue and Grey the lead again. The game would be tied eight different times and the lead exchanged 12 times as Dickerson would hit another three to give the team a six point lead, 48-42 with 12:59 to play. Freshman Matt Cardonne worked in a three-pointer to keep the Hounds, 53-48 with 7:46 in the game.
Dickerson made a pair of free throws to take a seven point lead, but the Blue Jays battled back taking the lead, 60-59 with 1:39 left in the game. The Greyhounds remained disciplined and with five seconds left Dickerson drove to the basket for two for the win after a steal on a long inbounds pass by the Blue Jays.
The Hounds return to Johnston Hall on Monday, February 16 for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off against The United States Merchant Marine Academy for Senior Day and their final home game of the season.
