BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Senior guard Izel Dickerson became the 20th player in Moravian College men's basketball program history to score 1,000 points on Monday evening as the Greyhounds fell to The United States Merchant Marine Academy, 74-52, in Johnston Hall.
"We have had difficulty with adversity all year when we got behind and didn't respond well again," commented Head Coach Jim Walker. "We played tough defense in the first half despite not hitting our shots, but in the second half we carried our frustrations from offense to defense. When we can't hit a shot we have to play tough defense, but we couldn't get past that in the second half."
Dickerson scored nine points and added three rebounds, two assists and one steals while junior forward Ryan O'Neil tossed in a career-high of 15 points, grabbed five rebounds and had one blocked shot. Sophomore forward Brandon McGuire scored 10 points, had five rebounds and three steals while junior guard/forward Jarrod Dilts scored seven points and had seven rebounds.
It didn't take Dickerson long to get to the milestone as he hit a jumper for the first two points of the game and would follow it up by knocking down a three pointer for a 5-3 lead with 16:46 still to play in the first half.
"Izel has averaged double figures over his career and is consistent offensively," stated Walker. "Some players are just good offensive players and score high figures and get their 1,000 points, but Izel was productive all four years on both sides of the ball which is a great balance."
McGuire hit a layup and O'Neil followed with a three gave the Hounds an eight-point lead, 10-2, with 13:50 in the first half. The Mariners would rally to a 12-point lead, but the Blue and Grey cut the deficit to five, 29-24, with a layup before the buzzer by Dilts.
In the second half, McGuire made a free throw to start the half and followed it up with a three-pointer to make it a one point game. USMMA took off again, but two made free throws by O'Neil kept the Hounds within nine. However, the Mariners extended the lead that the Greyhounds couldn't recover from.
The Blue and Grey return to Landmark Conference action on Saturday, February 21 with tip-off slated for 4:00 p.m. at Juniata College to close out the 2014-15 season.
