MONTCLAIR, N.J. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team picked up its first win of the 2018-19 season with an 89-78 victory over The City College of New York in the opening day of the Ollie Gelston Classic hosted by Montclair State (N.J.) University Friday evening.
The Greyhounds had four players in double figures led by senior forward Oneil Holder, who tossed in 20 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Nicholas Casazza added 17 points with five three-pointers, three rebounds and three assists while senior guard Jimmy Murray contributed 12 points and a pair of boards. Sophomore guard Keith Otto netted 10 points for his first career game in double figures, and he also dished out two assists.
Junior forward John Hargraves had six points and four rebounds for the Hounds while senior guard Will Barzukas added five points and five boards. Junior guard Elijah Davis also tossed in five points with four rebounds and a pair of assists while freshman forward Steve Breeman had four points, five rebounds and two steals. Junior guard C.J. Barnes contributed four points and three boards while juniors guard Mike Martino and forward Addis Ralph each connected on a three-pointer.
The Greyhounds connected on 34-of-73 field goal attempts including 13-of-42 three-pointers in the game, and they forced CCNY into 19 turnovers while the Blue and Grey had 15 turnovers to go with 20 assists.
Davis opened the game with a three-pointer, and Otto made it 6-0 with another three-point shot. Holder had the Greyhounds ahead 12-4 with a three-pointer at 15:48 while a jumper from Casazza had the Blue and Grey up 10 points, 18-8, with 9:25 left until the intermission. CCNY closed within four points before a three-pointer from Casazza, and a lay-up from Otto pushed the advantage to 28-17 with just under five minutes left in the first half. CCNY would close the gap but the Hounds headed to the locker room with a 36-32 halftime lead.
After an opening free throw by CCNY, Brazukas connected on a three-pointer to give Moravian a 39-33 advantage early in the second half. Casazza hit another three-pointer three minutes into the half to push the Hounds' advantage to 46-38, and Hargraves added two free throws to push the lead back into the double digits. Casazza connected on a three-pointer to cap a 12-0 run that had Moravian ahead 53-38 with 15:38 remaining, and the Blue and Grey would only led the lead dip below 10 points twice the rest of the way.
The Greyhounds will play Penn College in the second day of the Ollie Gelston Classic at Montclair State on Saturday, November 17 at 2:00 p.m.
