The Moravian College men's basketball team defeated Landmark Conference foe The United States Merchant Marine Academy, 87-76. This is the Greyhounds (8-7, 3-1) fourth straight win and third straight over a conference opponent. Junior guard D.J. Strayhorn led the Greyhounds with a career-high 28 points to go with his and two steals.

The Mariners (6-9, 1-3) got on the board first with a layup from sophomore forward Reed Buck. Junior guard Garrett Johnson responded with a three-pointer of his own. A layup from freshman guard Izel Dickerson and another from Strayhorn would put Moravian up 7-2 just two minutes into the game.

At 15:37, Strayhorn would hit the fade away jumper while drawing the foul. He would convert the free throw for the three-point play to give the Hounds a 14-8 lead. Sophomore guard Michael Farace of USMMA answered back with a three-pointer to make the score 14-11, five minutes in. Both teams would keep exchanging baskets for the next five minutes, as Moravian held a 21-18 lead with just under 11 minutes to go in the half.

Johnson would hit the three from the corner to extend the Greyhounds lead to 24-18 at the 10:41 mark. Buck and Johnson would exchange three-pointers as Moravian held a 29-26 lead with eight minutes remaining in the half. After a three from senior forward Patrick Farrell, the Mariners were only down 31-29 with 7:32 left in the half. Sophomore forward Cameron Cullen and Johnson would make back-to-back baskets to give the Hounds a 35-29 lead with 5:41 left in the first half.

A three-pointer from the corner from Strayhorn would give Moravian a 40-33 lead with two minutes remaining in the half. The Greyhounds would end up taking a 46-35 lead into the locker room.

Moravian shot 60-percent from the field in the first half while the Mariners shot 43-percent from the field. The Greyhounds out rebounded USMMA 17-11 and had one less turnover. Johnson led Moravian with 15 points and going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Buck led the Mariners with 13 points and two steals.

Sophomore guard Jeffrey Mark would get the Mariners on the board first in the second half with a layup. Faraca would follow that up with a deep three to make the score 46-40, Moravian just a minute into the second half. Sophomore forward Nick Sergio would cut the Greyhounds lead to four points with a layup three minutes into the half.

After a three-pointer from Strayhorn, Moravian would push its lead back to double-digits at 60-48 with 12:40 remaining. Faraca of USMMA would respond minutes later with a three of his own to make the score 62-53 with 11 minutes to go. The Mariners would then go on a 8-0 run to cut their deficit to three points at 64-61 with 8:23 remaining in the contest.

Dickerson would end USMMA's streak with a three-pointer to make the score 67-61 with just under eight minutes remaining in the half. After a layup and a three-pointer by Buck, the Mariners found themselves down 69-68 with 5:46 left in the contest. With 3:30 left in the game, Strayhorn would line up a three from straight away, and nail it to put the Greyhounds up 76-70.

Buck would connect from deep with 1:28 left in the half as Moravian is still up 78-73. After two free throws made by Johnson, senior guard Kevin Kerr of USMMA hit a deep three to make the score 80-76 with 1:12 to go. That would be as close as the Mariners would get as the Greyhounds went on to win 87-76.

Johnson finished with 21 points and five rebounds while Dickerson tied his career-high in points with 16. Hardy finished with nine boards and eight points while junior forward Aaron Thieme had four points, four rebounds and three blocks.

Buck led the way for USMMA with 25 points while Farace had 15 points and two steals. Mark had ten points, five rebounds and four assists while Sergio had eight points and five boards.

Moravian shot 52-percent from the field while USMMA shot 46-perecent from the field for the game. The Greyhounds out rebounded the Mariners 34-26 while USMMA had one less turnover.

Moravian will host conference rival Drew University tomorrow, January 14th at 2 p.m. in Johnston Hall.