BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Sophomore guard Jimmy Murray scored with less than a second left to force overtime, and the Moravian College men's basketball team netted the final nine points in the second overtime to post a 99-97 double-overtime victory over Juniata College in Landmark Conference action Saturday afternoon at Johnston Hall on Alumni Day.
The Hounds won their second straight contest to improve to 11-6 overall and 4-2 in Landmark Conference play this winter. The 11 victories equal the Blue and Grey's total from last season, the first year under Head Coach Justin Potts.
"I thought it was a really well-played college basketball game," stated Potts. "I have a lot of respect for Greg Gurley and his program at Juniata. I thought both teams gave everything that they had, and it obviously came down to one or two possessions here and there. We got it into overtime, and the got it to double overtime. We found a way to claw back from being down seven late in that second overtime. It was a team effort and our seniors stepped up. Sean made some big plays in both overtimes, and Brandon made a big three. When you get to this time of year, your seniors are going to need to make plays for you.
"I'm proud of our guys," continued Potts. "They stayed with it when it wasn't going great, and when it was going well they tried to lengthen those things. I can't be prouder of how they competed for 50 minutes. We found a way to get one and now onto the next game."
Senior forward Brandon McGuire led five Moravian players in double figures with 19 points to go along with nine rebounds, three steals, two assists and a pair of blocked shots. McGuire, who was honored prior to the game for scoring his 1,000th career points, now sits at 15th in school history with 1,141 points and eighth with 658 rebounds for the Greyhounds.
Senior guard Sean Hanna tossed in 18 points including 13 in the two overtimes and the final six points of the win to go with three assists and two rebounds. Sophomore forward Jake McGee added 17 points and six rebounds while sophomore forward Oneil Holder had 12 points and six boards. Murray contributed 10 points and a pair of steals for Moravian.
Senior guard Isaiah Jennings added six points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals in the win while freshman forward John Hargraves and sophomore guard Nicholas Casazza each tossed in four points with Hargraves adding two rebounds. Sophomore guard Will Brazukas had four assists and three points while freshman guard C.J. Barnes contributed three points and three boards. Junior guard Matt Cardonne had two points and two assists while freshman guard Mike Martino added one point.
Murray opened the scoring with a jumper on Moravian's first possession, and a three-pointer by McGuire had the Greyhounds up 5-0 in the first 90 seconds of the contest. The Eagles responded and moved ahead before Barnes connected on a three-pointer to knot the score at 12-12. Juniata ran off the next seven points to build a 19-12 lead, and the Eagles led until the 5:53 mark when Hargraves put a lay-up in to tie the contest at 25-25. The Eagles moved back in front by seven points again before heading to the locker room with a 39-34 lead over the Blue and Grey.
Juniata led by seven points twice early in the second half before an 11-0 run by Moravian flipped a 51-44 deficit into a 55-51 lead. After McGuire tied it at 51-51, Hanna and Holder both hit lay-ups as the Greyhounds pressure defense stole the next two inbounds passes. Over the final nine minutes of regulation, the teams traded the lead five times and were tied five times before Murray drove into the lane and scored with 0.3 seconds left to tie the game at 75-75, just 10 seconds after Hanna had tied it at 73-73.
Murray opened the first overtime with a jumper before Juniata tied the game for a tenth time at 77-77. Hanna would hit a three-point play to give Moravian the lead until the final five seconds when the Eagles knotted the score at 89-89. Hanna had a chance to end it but his driving lay-up missed in the final seconds.
The second overtime was a reversal from the first with Juniata scoring the opening points, and the Eagles opening a 97-90 lead with 2:35 left on the clock. However, Moravian's defense did not allow a point the rest of the way. McGuire hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 97-93. Hanna took over with back-to-back lay-ups that tied the game at 97-97 with 55 seconds to play. Juniata had two chances to score before McGee grabbed a rebound with 24 seconds remaining. Hanna would get his hands on the ball and set up one final drive to the basket when he was fouled with 1.2 ticks left. Hanna drilled both free throws to give Moravian the lead, and McGuire knocked away the inbounds pass to seal the victory.
The Greyhounds are slated to return to action on Wednesday, January 25 in a Landmark Conference game versus Goucher College with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall.
