Posted: Dec 01, 2021
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University men's basketball squad rallied from a 12-point first half deficit to earn an 80-78 non-conference win over visiting Cabrini University in Johnston Hall Wednesday evening as sophomore guard Alex Dietz hit the winning jumper with 0.1 seconds left on the clock.
How It Happened
- The Cavaliers scored the first points of the game before a three-pointer by sophomore forward Mike DiPietro put the Hounds ahead 3-2. After a free throw from DiPietro, Cabrini scored the next six points for an 8-4 edge. The Blue and Grey knotted the score at 12-12 on a three-point play from junior guard Nate Dougherty at the 14:58 mark
- The Cavaliers scored 10 of the next 12 points in the game to pull ahead 22-14, and Cabrini would extend the lead to 12 points at 37-25 with 4:14 before the intermission. The Hounds closed the half with a 9-2 run with senior guard Danny Cooper connecting on a three-pointer to send the teams to the locker room with Cabrini leading 39-34
- The Cavaliers pushed the edge back to nine points in the first 1:04 of the second half, and Cabrini still had a nine-point edge, 54-45, with just over 14 minutes left to play. Moravian closed within three points at 57-54 on a lay-up from Dougherty. After Cabrini extended the lead back to seven points, 61-54, the Greyhounds ran off nine straight points with Dougherty hitting a lay-up at the 7:41 mark to give the Blue and Grey a 63-61 advantage
- The Hounds pushed their lead up to six points at 73-67 on a lay-up from sophomore forward Thomas Abato with 3:03 to go. Moravian still had a 78-75 edge with 23 seconds remaining after a free throw from Cooper; however, Cabrini drained a three-pointer with 17 seconds left to knot the score at 78-78. After a timeout by the Greyhounds, Dietz dribbled down the right side of the lane in front of the Moravian bench and pulled up for a 10-foot jumper that went in with 0.1 seconds on the clock to give the Greyhounds the victory as the Blue and Grey finished up their five-game homestand with a 3-2 mark that also included an overtime win
Inside the Numbers
- Moravian had four players in double figures with Dougherty netting a team-high 17 points. Cooper and Dietz both netted 15 points while freshman forward Nate Santiago added a career-best 13 points, his first game in double digits in his collegiate career
- DiPietro and sophomore guard C.J. Weber each had eight points while Abato finished with six points
- Santiago tied his career high with eight rebounds as the Greyhounds finished with a 39-32 edge on the boards. Abato added six boards while Cooper, DiPietro and Dougherty all had five rebounds
- Dietz dished out a team-high four assists to go with two rebounds while Weber had three rebounds. Cooper contributed three assists and two steals
- Santiago and Abato both had a pair of blocked shots while DiPietro, Santiago, Abato and freshman guard/forward Michael Leonardo all had two assists
- The Hounds shot 57.1 percent (16-for-28) from the floor in the second half but the biggest difference in the game was at the foul line where Moravian was 16-for-22 while Cabrini was just 6-for-12. Dietz was 8-for-11 at the charity stripe
Head Coach, Mike Frew '02, discusses the team's performance after their win over Cabrini. |
Up Next for the Greyhounds
- Saturday, December 4 at Juniata College, 2:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 8 at Penn State Brandywine, 7:00 p.m.