Hounds Fall to No. 2 Williams in 39th Steel Club Classic

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team fell to No. 2 Williams (Mass.) College, 81-72, in the second day of action in the 39th Steel Club Classic in Johnston Hall Monday afternoon.

The Greyhounds end the calendar year at 8-4 after playing their final non-conference game of the year with the final 13 contests on the schedule coming in Landmark Conference play to finish the season.

Moravian had three players in double figures led by junior guard C.J. Barnes, who netted 21 points to go with five rebounds as he was named to the All-Tournament Team. Senior forward Oneil Holder earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team for the third straight December as he contributed 15 points and nine rebounds while junior forward Addis Ralph had 14 points. Holder became the 11th player in school history to reach 600 career rebounds with his first board of the game, and he is now tenth all-time with 608 rebounds.

Senior guard Jimmy Murray and sophomore guard Keith Otto each tossed in six points with Murray adding five rebounds and a pair of assists. Senior guard Will Brazukas and freshman forward Steve Breeman each scored five points with Brazukas dishing out five assists to go with two boards and Breeman grabbing three boards. Senior guard Nicholas Casazza pulled down four rebounds while junior guard Mike Martino added three rebounds and junior forward John Hargraves and sophomore guard Matt O'Connor each had two boards.

Moravian struggled shooting the ball in the first half and finished the game 24-of-73 from the floor, 9-for-39 beyond the three-point line and 15-of-19 at the foul line while the Ephs shot over 62 percent for the game. Both squads had 39 rebounds in the contest while the Greyhounds forced Williams into 18 turnovers. The Blue and Grey also had 14 assists in the game.

Williams scored the first eight points of the game before Ralph hit a lay-up at the 17:06 mark. Ralph added another lay-up and a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 10-5 before the Ephs ran the advantage up to 17 points, 27-10, midway through the first half. Williams would head to the locker room with a 46-30 lead.

The Greyhounds would bring the deficit down to 10 points, 51-41, on a three-pointer by Murray with 13:45 left; however, the Ephs scored 11 straight for a 62-41 lead with 10:28 to play. Williams' advantage stretched to 25 points, 71-46, with 7:02 remaining. Moravian slowly closed gap before a three-pointer by Barnes with less than five seconds brought the gap to the final nine points.

The Hounds are scheduled to return to the court on Saturday, January 5, 2019 in a Landmark Conference contest at The Catholic University of America beginning at 4:00 p.m. in Washington, D.C.