BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian College juniors forward Oneil Holder and guard Jimmy Murray both eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone for their careers while helping the Greyhounds to a 99-81 victory over visiting Elizabethtown College in Landmark Conference action Saturday in Johnston Hall.
The Hounds improve to 15-6 overall and 7-3 in Landmark Conference play with the win and are now in a two-way tie for second in the conference standings with four games remaining in the regular season.
"I thought we played well today," stated Head Coach Justin Potts. "I think probably over the last three or four games, we've started to click a little bit. That is what you hope and what we talk about as a team is to being playing your best at the end of the year. I think our depth has been really good the last couple of games, and today was a total team effort. We turned them over and got some offense out of that. We shared the ball well and shot really well for the second straight game."
Holder, who entered the contest needing nine points for the milestone, scored his 1,000th point with 2:34 left in the first half to become the 22nd player in program history to reach the mark, and he finished the game with 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Murray had more work to do, needing 24 points when action began. Murray would net 23 points in the first half and pass the milestone on a three-pointer just 1:14 into the second half to become the 23rd Greyhound at the 1,000-point mark, and Murray finished with a career-high 34 points that included a 6-for-6 performance beyond the three-point line as he moved into fourth in school history with 146 career three-pointers.
"Oneil and Jimmy – it is a heck of an accomplishment and I know there aren't too many juniors in program history to reach 1,000 points," commented Potts. "I look at it as a team award. Obviously guys are getting those two the ball and I bet junior guard Will Brazukas probably has had a hand in a large part of that. Those guys have been the foundation of the program that we started three years ago when I took over, and they have done a really good job of helping us build this thing and keep it moving. It is a great accomplishment for them."
Moravian had two other players in double figures in the contest with sophomore forward Addis Ralph netting a career-high 12 points to go with two rebounds sophomore guard Elijah Davis adding 10 points and four boards. Senior forward Khalil Rhett had six points and four rebounds for the Greyhounds while sophomore forward C.J. Barnes had six points and two boards. Senior guard Matt Cardonne and junior guard Nicholas Casazza each scored five points with Casazza picking up three assists while sophomore guard Mike Martino dished out a career-high 10 assists with three points and six rebounds. Freshman guard Keith Otto picked up two points while freshman guard Matt O'Connor added two assists and a pair of steals.
The Hounds had a good day shooting the ball, making 39-of-64 field goal attempts (60.9 percent) and 10-of-25 three-pointers, and the squad went 11-for-16 at the foul line. Moravian finished with a 32-31 edge on the boards and forced the Blue Jays into 20 turnovers with the pressure defense.
Elizabethtown scored on the opening possession and the score was timed at 6-6 before a 6-0 run from the Hounds had Moravian ahead for good after a David lay-up. The Blue Jays closed within a point at 12-11 and trailed 16-13 when The Greyhounds ran off 17 straight points. Holder had a free throw to begin the run at 14:16, and a three-pointer by Martino pushed the lead to 33-13 with 8:53 left in the first half. Elizabethtown would get within 12 points before Murray's hot hand sent the Blue and Grey to the locker room with a 57-38 advantage.
Murray's milestone surpassing three-pointer had Moravian leading 63-40 early in the second half and the edge reached 25 points before Elizabethtown slowly closed within 14, 80-66, with just under nine minutes to play. Murray's final three-pointer of the contest had the Hounds up 97-75 with 3:22 left.
Moravian is set to host Goucher College on Wednesday, February 7 in a Landmark Conference game beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall, the second contest in a four-game home stand for the Greyhounds.
