TOWSON, Md. --- The Goucher College men's basketball team rallied from nine-point second half deficit to post a 66-62 victory over visiting Moravian College Saturday evening in Landmark Conference action.
The Gophers, now 4-8 overall and 2-0 in conference action, scored the opening points on a tip-in basket by freshman forward Julian Livingston at 18:27 while the Greyhounds' first points came on a three-pointer from junior guard Kenny Gula 22 seconds later. Goucher moved ahead 10-7 on a three-point play from sophomore guard Richard Harris with 15:43 left before the intermission.
Moravian, which falls to 8-3 on the season and 2-1 in Landmark Conference contests, would eventually move back in front, 12-10, at the 11:15 mark on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Izel Dickerson, and Dickerson added a free throw after a steal for a 13-10 advantage. Goucher answered with four points to take a 14-13 lead on a lay-up from Livingston before Gula hit another three-pointer to put the Greyhounds up 16-14 just 22 seconds later.
Goucher retook the lead, 18-17, on a three-point play from senior forward Trae Lindsay with 8:24 before the intermission. Junior center Cameron Cullen answered right away with a lay-up to put the Greyhounds back in front. The teams traded baskets and the lead over the next few minutes before Harris hit a three-pointer to five the Gophers a 25-21 with 5:14 left before halftime.
The Greyhounds would knot the score at 26-26 on a steal and breakaway lay-up from senior guard D.J. Strayhorn but the Gophers responded right away with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Troy Parker Jr. and a jumper from Livingston to rebuild a 31-26 lead with 2:19 left before the intermission. Strayhorn would hit a three-pointer and then immediately steal the ball and score again as Moravian moved ahead 33-32 with 1:19 to go, and he connected on another three-pointer with 42 seconds left in the half to put the Greyhounds up 36-34.
Strayhorn sent Moravian to the locker room with a 38-35 lead after a pair of free throws with six seconds on the clock. The Greyhounds connected on 12-of-27 field goal attempts (44 percent), five-of-14 three-pointers and nine-of-12 free throws in the opening 20 minutes of the game. Goucher was 13-for-33 (39 percent) from the field, two-for-nine on three-pointers and seven-for-11 at the charity stripe in the opening half. The Gophers also had a 19-17 edge in rebounds, and Goucher had six turnovers in the first half while Moravian committed seven turnovers.
The Gophers opened the scoring in the second half on a put back basket from Lindsay but senior guard Garrett Johnson answered with a three-pointer to put Moravian up 41-47 1:17 into the second half. Strayhorn connected on a three-pointer at 16:02 to push the Greyhounds' advantage to 49-41.
Livingston would pull the Gophers within four points at 52-48 on a jumper with 10:40 remaining in the game, and 19 seconds later Lindsay would make it a two-point game with a pair of free throws. Harris connected on two free throws at the 9:05 mark to tie the game at 52-52, a 9-0 run for Goucher. Strayhorn made a pair of free throws on a technical foul at 7:46 to stop the Gophers' run and put the Greyhounds back in front, 54-52.
Harris hit a long jumper to tie the game again at 54-54 but Moravian retook the lead, 55-54, on a free throw by junior forward Blake English with 5:27 to play. Livingston eventually gave the Gophers the lead again, 57-55, on a three-pointer with 4:28 left. Gula would get the lead back for Moravian, 58-57, with a three-pointer at 2:15.
Sophomore guard Brian Morton had a three-point play at the 1:52 mark to put Goucher up 60-58 before Staryhorn answered with a jumper in the lane to tie the game again. Lindsay would dunk a pass from Parker to give the Gophers a 62-60 edge with just over a minute to play. Morton extended the Goucher lead to 63-60 with a free throw with just 37 seconds remaining, and Livingston added two free throws with 23 seconds remaining to push the advantage to 65-60. Dickerson would score a basket for the Greyhounds with seven seconds left but it wasn't enough.
The Greyhounds were just eight-for-34 from the field (23.5 percent), four-for-14 behind the three-point line and four-for-nine at the foul line in the second half while Goucher was ten-for-28 (35.7 percent) from the field, two-for-eight on three-pointers and nine-for-12 at the foul line in the final 20 minutes. The Gophers also had a 45-42 edge in rebounds, and Goucher had 14 turnovers in the game while Moravian committed 13 total turnovers.
Strayhorn led three Moravian players in double figures with a game high 24 points to go with three rebounds and three assists. Gula tossed in 14 points with four rebounds while Cullen had ten points and a team high seven boards for the Greyhounds. Dickerson tossed in six points and added five rebounds off of the bench while Johnson had four points, six rebounds and four assists for Moravian.
Harris led a trio of Goucher player in double digits with 22 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. Livingston had a double-double of 17 points and a game high 11 rebounds while Lindsay tossed in 12 points and grabbed nine boards.
Moravian is scheduled to return to action on Monday, January 7th when the squad hosts Immaculata University in a non-conference game tipping off at 7:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall.