NEW YORK, N.Y. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought non-conference game at Yeshiva (N.Y.) University Wednesday night, 99-94, to close out the first semester of action.
The Greyhounds, who are now 7-3 overall after having their seven-game winning streak snapped by the Maccabees, had three players in double figures led by senior forward Oneil Holder, who had a season-high 30 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Senior guard Jimmy Murray tossed in 23 points with two assists and two steals while senior guard Nicholas Casazza added 16 points to go with two boards and a pair of assists. Holder moved into tenth in school history with 1,303 points while Murray climbed to 12th with 1,289 points.
Junior guard C.J. Barnes contributed nine points and three assists for the Hounds while juniors forward John Hargraves and guard Elijah Davis and sophomore guards Keith Otto and Matt O'Connor all scored four points. Otto had three rebounds while Davis added three steals and a pair of boards. Senior guard Will Brazukas also had three rebounds to go with three assists and two steals.
Moravian connected on 34-of-70 field goal attempts, 13-of-31 three-pointers and 13-of-18 free throws while Yeshiva shot 61.8 percent from the floor and went 22-for-24 at the foul line. The Blue and Grey forced the Maccabees into 25 turnovers while committing just eight, but Yeshiva also posted a 37-20 edge on the boards.
The Maccabees scored right off of the opening tip before Holder scored on a lay-up. Murray followed with a jumper for an early 4-2 lead by the Greyhounds. Yeshiva would pull ahead by five points before Murray put the Hounds back ahead 23-22 with 11:35 left in the first half. Otto pushed that advantage to three points two minutes later; however, the Maccabees retook the lead by six points and would head to the locker room up 49-45 after a buzzer beating lay-up from Murray.
Holder opened the second half with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to a point before Yeshiva went on a 10-2 run to build a 59-50 lead. Murray connected on a three-pointer to pull the Blue and Grey within two points at 61-59 with 15:30 remaining only to see the Maccabees extend the edge back to eight points. Davis would tie the contest for the tenth time with just over 10 minutes remaining at 71-71, and Casazza hit one of his five three-pointers to give the Hounds a 76-75 lead with 8:39 to play. Yeshiva answered with a 12-0 run to take an 87-76 lead that the Greyhounds were unable to recover from. Barnes hit a three-pointer and Davis added two free throws in the final 15 seconds to cut the deficit to three twice before Yeshiva hit free throws to end the contest.
Moravian is slated to return to action on Sunday, December 30 in the first day of the 39th Steel Club Classic when the Greyhounds play Virginia Wesleyan University at 4:30 p.m. in Johnston Hall.
