EASTON, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team finished the first semester of action with a non-conference game at NCAA Division I Lafayette College, falling 104-67, Monday evening to head to the break with a 7-3 record.
"I thought we competed but it just wasn't the night to not make shots," stated Head Coach Justin Potts. "Credit goes to coach O'Hanlon and his team. They did a good job of taking away some of the things that we try to do. They take advantage of all the mistakes you make, which is the sign of a really well coaches team. I thought early in the second half when we got the deficit down to eight that we had some good momentum but we just couldn't capitalize and make some shots. When we missed, they went down to the other end and made shots. I'm proud of the way our guys competed."
The Greyhounds were just 18-of-58 from the floor (31 percent) and 6-for-26 beyond the three-point line (23.1 percent) against the Leopards for their lowest shooting game of the season but the Hounds did go 25-for-31 at the foul line (80.6 percent).
Sophomore forward Oneil Holder led Moravian with 14 points to go with four rebounds while freshman guard C.J. Barnes tossed in 12 points with boards. Freshman forward John Hargraves added nine points, a career-best six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots while senior forward Brandon McGuire added six points, two steals and a team-high eight rebounds to move into ninth in school history with 606 boards.
Senior guard Sean Hanna, sophomore guard Jimmy Murray and sophomore guard Nicholas Casazza each tossed in five points with Hanna adding three assists, two steals and a pair of rebounds. Sophomore forward Jake McGee contributed four points and three rebounds while junior guard Khalil Rhett and freshman guard Mike Martino each had two points.
The Leopards jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead just 16 seconds into action, and Lafayette lead 10-0 before McGee hit a pair of free throws at the 16:24 mark to get Moravian on the board. The Leopards pushed the lead to 26, and held a 42-16 advantage with 5:56 left in the first half. Barnes sparked a 16-0 run with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws, and a free throw by Hargraves had the Greyhounds down just 10 points, 42-32, with 2:30 until the intermission. Lafayette had a 47-36 lead heading to the locker room.
Down 14 points early in the second half, Holder had a pair of free throws and a jumper followed by a lay-up from McGuire that had Moravian trailing by just eight points, 52-44, with 17:16 to play. However, that would be as close as the Greyhounds could get before the Leopards pulled away by shooting 57 percent in the second half.
Moravian is scheduled to return to action on Friday, December 30 when the squad hosts the 37th Roosevelts Greyhound Classic with the Hounds playing Penn State Lehigh Valley in the opening round Tip-off is slated for 4:30 p.m. in Johnston Hall.
