BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team captured its fifth straight victory and clinched the second seed in the 2017 Landmark Conference Tournament with a 90-82 win over visiting The Catholic University of America on Senior Day in Johnston Hall Saturday.
The Greyhounds completed the regular season at 18-7 overall and the squad was 11-3 in Landmark Conference action, finishing in a three-way tie for first with The University of Scranton and Susquehanna University. By virtue of the tiebreakers, Scranton is the top seed with a 3-1 record among the teams including a sweep of Susquehanna while Moravian is 2-2 with the Greyhounds win over Scranton giving Moravian the second seed.
The Hounds will host Susquehanna in the Landmark Conference Semifinals on Wednesday, February 22 at 7:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall. It will be Moravian's first postseason appearance since 2012-13, the first in the Landmark Tournament since 2011-12 and just the third since the Landmark Conference began competition 10 years ago. The Greyhounds will host a postseason game in Johnston Hall for the first time since 2007-08, and Moravian's 18 wins mark just the seventh time in 80 years that the program has posted that many victories in a season.
"I thought we played really well from start to finish today," commented second-year Head Coach Justin Potts. "It was probably the most complete in the last four games, maybe besides Juniata where I thought we played pretty well. It was a team effort and the seniors rose to the occasion especially in the second half. I happy for our guys that they get a chance to play in a playoff game and have it at home. It is a great opportunity for them, and we're looking forward to a good environment on Wednesday. We've done a lot of good things and we just have to see what happens on Wednesday night.
"When I got back to campus, the one thing we talked about was getting better every day," Potts continued. "The reason I think the program has grown to this point is the kids are invested in it and they've worked hard. We have good kids, and they believe in the process. They've stayed committed to our core values, which has allowed us to grow as a program that has put us in the sport we are now."
The Greyhounds placed five players in double figures Saturday with senior forward Brandon McGuire picking up his 13th double-double of the season and the 31st of his career with 23 points and 13 rebounds. McGuire is now tenth in school history with 1,280 points and fourth with 737 boards. Senior guard Sean Hanna tossed in a career-high 21 points to go with four rebounds, three assists and three steals as he moved past 600 points for his career.
Freshman guard C.J. Barnes tossed in 14 points to go with three boards while sophomore forward Oneil Holder added 13 points, two rebounds and two steals. Sophomore guard Jimmy Murray contributed 11 points with a pair of assists.
Senior guard Isaiah Jennings had six assists, three rebounds and a point in his final regular season home game as Jennings became just the 12th player in school history to reach 100 career games played in a Greyhound uniform. Junior guard Matt Cardonne tossed in three points and dished out two assists while freshman forward John Hargraves added two points and two boards. Sophomore guard Will Brazukas also scored two points while sophomore forward Jake McGee had two assists.
Holder opened the scoring with a jumper in the lane just six seconds into the contest, and Moravian hit on its first seven shots of the game for a 15-5 lead just 3:50 into action. Catholic would close within three points before a lay-up by Hargraves and a three-pointer from McGuire had the lead back to eight, 20-12, with 13:03 left in the opening half. The Cardinals were also shooting the ball well in the opening half and eventually tied the score at 22-22.
Another three-pointer by McGuire had Moravian back in the lead, and a three-pointer by Murray and a lay-up from Hanna pushed the Greyhounds ahead by eight points again, 30-22. Catholic would get within two points before Moravian headed to the locker room with a 43-38 advantage.
McGuire and Hanna scored quick baskets to start the second half, and a three-pointer from Hanna had the Hounds' edge back to 10 points, 50-40, just 1:45 into the half. McGuire scored on a tip-in at the 16:00 mark as Moravian led by 12 points, 56-44, before the Cardinals closed within five points. The Blue and Grey led by seven points, 68-61, after a pair of free throws by Holder with just over 10 minutes to play but Catholic had the edge down to just a point, 73-72, with 5:50 on the clock.
That would be as close as the Cardinals would get. McGuire hit a lay-up and Hanna added two free throws to make the lead five points again. Leading by six points with a minute and a half to go, Moravian would connect on six free throws to seal the victory.
Moravian will be meeting Susquehanna for the first time in the postseason when the River Hawks come to Johnston Hall on Wednesday, February 22 for the Landmark Conference Semifinals beginning at 7:00 p.m.
