DOYLESTOWN, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team earned its fourth win of the season with an 85-69 victory in a non-conference contest at Delaware Valley University Wednesday night.
The Greyhounds, who are now 4-1 this winter, had three players in double figures with junior forward Oneil Holder netting a team-high 20 points to go along with nine rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Will Brazukas reached double digits in points for the first time in his career with 16 points in the game to go with four assists, three steals and three rebounds while junior guard Jimmy Murray returned to the lineup and contributed 15 points, four board and three steals.
Sophomore guard C.J. Barnes had nine points and tied his career-high with six rebounds for the Hounds while freshman guard Shon Wilson tossed in six points. Junior guard Nicholas Casazza and sophomore guard Mike Martino each scored five points with Casazza grabbing four boards while freshman guard Keith Otto had three points in his first action of the season.
Moravian connected on 28-of-70 field goal attempts (40 percent), and the Hounds, who entered the game averaging 40 three-pointers attempted per contest, were 6-of-24 beyond the three-point arc. The Blue and Grey hit on 23-of-31 free throws (74.2 percent) and held a 38-37 edge on the glass. Moravian's pressure defense forced Delaware Valley into 28 turnovers while the Hounds had just 12 turnovers, and Moravian finished with 16 steals in the game.
The Aggies scored the opening points of the game, and the Greyhounds would not get onto the scoreboard until the 16:35 mark when Wilson dropped in a jumper. Delaware Valley then scored the next six points to pull out to a 9-2 lead 5:15 into the contest. Murray connected on a pair of free throws at the 13:33 mark to start a 9-0 run as the Blue and Grey took their first lead of the evening, 11-9, on a lay-up from Brazukas 1:11 later.
Delaware Valley moved back in front, 14-11, and the Aggies had a 20-15 lead halfway through the first 20 minutes of action. Senior forward Aaron Brown knotted the score again at 21-21 and Brown also had four rebounds in the game while Barnes gave the Greyhounds a 25-21 advantage with 7:15 left in the half. Brazukas gave Moravian a 31-27 lead but the Aggies outscored the Hounds 9-5 over the rest of the half to send the teams to the locker room tied at 36-36.
Brazukas opened the scoring in the second half with a three-pointer for Moravian only to have Delaware Valley score five straight points for a 41-39 lead. Murray capped a 10-2 run for the Greyhounds who had taken a 49-43 advantage with 15:42 left in the game. Wilson connected on a pair of free throws to have Moravian ahead 51-45 before the Aggies netted five straight points to pull within 51-50 with 12:49 to go.
Moravian answered with a 6-0 run as Martino pushed the Blue and Grey's lead to 57-50 with just over 11 minutes left in the game. Holder would push the Greyhounds; advantage to nine points, 63-54, with 7:41 to play while Casazza hit a free throw for the Hounds' first double-digit edge of the game 27 seconds later. Barnes would make the lead 11 points, 68-57, on a lay-up after a steal by Casazza. Holder pushed the lead to 13 points, 78-65, with a free throw with just 2:43 left in the contest while Murray extended it to 79-65 with another free throw with just over two minutes remaining. Brazukas gave the Hounds their largest lead of the night of 16 points, 81-65, with a little over a minute left in the contest.
The Greyhounds are scheduled to begin their 2017-18 Landmark Conference season on Saturday, December 2 when the squad heads to Elizabethtown College for a 2:00 p.m. contest.
