BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College men's basketball team fell to nationally-ranked No. 6 The Catholic University of America, 85-59, Saturday afternoon in Landmark Conference action. The Cardinals improved to 13-2, 3-1 in conference while the Greyhounds fell to 9-5 and 2-3 in conference.
Sophomore forward Steve Limeriou got the first basket of the game after a stolen pass for Catholic. Junior guard Kenny Gula came back with a three-pointer from the wing. Senior guard Nate Koenig put up a three of his own for the Cardinals, but Gula came back with another three from the same spot and the 6-5 lead. Limeriou then hit a three, and senior forward Chris Kearney added a layup for the 10-6 lead two minutes in.
Gula ended the Cardinals run with another three from the wing. Kearney tallied a layup and senior guard D.J. Strayhorn hit a deep three-pointer to make the score 14-12, Catholic, three minutes in. The Cardinals went up 21-12, but junior center Blake English drilled a three to make the score 21-15 six minutes into the contest. English then stole the ball and hit the layup to make the score 21-17.
Koenig answered with a baseline jumper for the 23-17 Catholic lead. Limberiou followed that up with a three for the 26-17 lead, seven minutes in. English ended the Cardinals run with two made free throws to put the score at 30-19 with ten minutes to play in the first half.
After two scores from Catholic, senior forward Aaron Thieme grabbed the offensive rebound, and went up for the tough score to put the game at 34-21, Catholic. After a three by Catholic, senior guard Garrett Johnson added a break-away layup. English added a lay-in to make the score 37-25 with four minutes left in the half. The Cardinals extended their lead to 45-27 at halftime.
Moravian shot 36-percent from the field while Catholic shot 58-percent from the field in the first half. The Cardinals held a 19-13 rebounding advantage while committing four less turnovers. Gula and English both had nine points for the Greyhounds at halftime while Limeriou led Catholic with 11 points.
Junior center Cameron Cullen powered up for the first bucket of the second half for Moravian. Koenig answered for Catholic with a mid-range jumper to make the score 47-29. Cullen added another layup two minutes in to make the score 52-31.
English hit the layup to make the score 59-34 with 14 minutes to play in the game. Johnson drilled a three from the corner on the next possession to make the score 61-37. Two free throws by English cut the score to 61-39 with 12:38 left in the game.
Cullen hit the turnaround hook shot to make the score 64-41. Sophomore guard Izel Dickerson followed with an easy lay-in to make the score 64-43 with ten minutes remaining. That would be as close as Moravian got as they went onto lose 85-59.
English led Moravian 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks while Gula put up 12 points. Cullen added 11 points while Johnson had six rebounds, five points and three assists. Strayhorn finished with seven points.
Senior guard Shawn Holmes led Catholic with 20 points and five assists while Limberiou finished with 19 points. Koenig put up 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals while freshman guard Bryson Fonville had 11 points and seven assists.
The Greyhounds shot 41-percent from the field while the Cardinals shot 62-percent from the field for the game. Catholic held the rebounding advantage at 34-23 while committing six less turnovers.
The Greyhounds return to the court on Monday, January 14th as they host Rutgers-Newark. The contest is set for 8 p.m.
