BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team eclipsed the 100-point mark for the second straight game with a 101-94 non-conference victory over visiting Delaware Valley University in Johnston Hall Wednesday evening, a feat the Greyhounds had not accomplished in 56 years.
The Hounds, now 4-1 on the season after the program's first four-game winning streak since early in the 2012-13 season, last reached 100 points in back-to-back games in January of 1960 when Moravian hit the century mark in four straight contests with a 102-83 win over Wilkes University on January 6, a 101-49 win over Drew University on January 9, a 104-89 triumph over the University of Scranton on January 11 and a 103-78 win versus Elizabethtown College on January 14.
"I thought the guys did a good job," stated Head Coach Justin Potts. "I thought we played solid basketball for about 30 minutes. We got off to a slow start, and we were kind of lackadaisical early but picked things up and did good a good job in the middle and end in the first half. We started the second half well and executed. I give Delaware Valley credit since they stayed with it. When you run and press, you are never out of it and neither is your opponent. They clawed their way back in it. I thought all and all with 18 assists on 31 field goals was good, and we shot the ball well from three."
The Greyhounds had four players in double figures in the victory over the Aggies Wednesday with senior forward Brandon McGuire picking up his fifth double-double of the season and the 23rd of his career with 25 points and 11 rebounds. McGuire is now 10th in Moravian history with 550 career rebounds. Junior guard Matt Cardonne tossed in 16 points while senior guard Sean Hanna and freshman forward John Hargraves each scored 11 points, a career-high for Hargraves, with Hanna adding three assists.
Freshman guard C.J. Barnes added nine points and three rebounds while sophomore guard Nicholas Casazza netted a career-best eight points for the Blue and Grey. Junior guard Khalil Rhett contributed seven points, four rebounds and a pair of assists while sophomore guard Will Brazukas had six points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals for Moravian. Senior guard Isaiah Jennings dished out a team-high six assists to go with four rebounds and three points while freshman guard Mike Martino had three points. Sophomore forward Oneil Holder added four rebounds a two points while freshman guard Elijah Davis and freshman center Addis Ralph each gave the Hounds minutes off of the bench.
"We got a lot of contributions," noted Potts. "Brandon had another double-double, Sean played well and Isaiah and Will did a good job at the point. John, a young guy for us, gave us some great minutes off of the bench. Matt also played well.
"As we said early in the year, our depth is an advantage for us." continued Potts. "We had some guys played more minutes than they had. Nick did good job and stepped up to hit some shots. Elijah and CJ off the bench played well, and I thought Mike gave us some good minutes. The young guys are continuing to grow, and I think as long as we keep working in practice and focus on the right things, I think that depth is going to be an advantage for us as we go through the season."
The Aggies took an early lead before McGuire hit the first of five three-pointers in the game as Moravian moved ahead 3-2. Cardonne added a three-pointer for a 6-2 lead but an 11-3 lead by Delaware Valley had the Aggies in front, 13-9 with 11:32 left in the opening half. The squads traded the lead until a pair of free throws by Rhett put the Greyhounds ahead 24-23 with 7:12 before the intermission, a lead that the Blue and Grey would not relinquish.
Martino capped the 8-0 run with a three-pointer, and Casazza pushed the lead into double digits at 38-28 on a three-pointer with 3:15 until halftime. The Moravian lead reached 15 points, 43-28, on a three-pointer from Hanna, and the Hounds headed to the locker room with a 45-34 advantage.
Moravian's lead would reach 21 points, 61-40, after a three-point play by Hargraves five minutes into the second half before a 13-3 run by the Aggies. Cardonne pushed the lead back to 20 points with a pair of free throws with 9:51 on the clock but the persistent Delaware Valley squad would get the deficit back under 10 points with 2:43 to play. The Greyhounds iced the game at the foul line in the final minute with Casazza, Cardonne and Brazukas each making two free throws and Hanna adding one.
The Hounds are scheduled to return to action on Saturday, December 3 when the squad begins its 2016-17 Landmark Conference season versus Elizabethtown College. Tip-off is slated for 4:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall.
