Dickerson's Career-High Not Enough as Hounds Fall to Mules
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior point guard Izel Dickerson paced the Moravian College men’s basketball team with a career-high 27 points, but the Greyhounds fell to rival Muhlenberg College 75-56 on Tuesday night in the 2013-14 home opener in Johnston Hall.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
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33 | 42 | 75 |
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24 | 32 | 56 |
Team Stats
Muhlenberg College
| Game Statistics | Muhlenberg College | Moravian University |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (27-62) | (18-64) |
| Field Goal % | 43.5% | 28.1% |
| Rebounds | 43 | 44 |
| Assists | 12 | 8 |
| Turnovers | 12 | 10 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 16 | 15 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 14 | 14 |
| Bench Pts | 26 | 15 |
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior point guard Izel Dickerson paced the Moravian College men's basketball team with a career-high 27 points, but the Greyhounds fell to rival Muhlenberg College 75-56 on Tuesday night in the 2013-14 home opener in Johnston Hall.
Dickerson shot 50 percent (9-of-18) from the floor during his career night, and added a rebound, an assist and two steals in a game-high 37 minutes. The junior was 3-of-6 from three-point land and converted 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.
Muhlenberg claimed victory on Tuesday night by constantly finding an answer to any runs Moravian could muster up. Junior guard Malique Killing paced the Mules with 23 points on 47-percent shooting, and guard sophomore Alec Stavetski and freshman Jon Schreer each scored 14 points, with Schreer going 4-for-5 on three-point field goals.
Meanwhile, the Greyhounds (1-2) struggled from the floor, shooting 28 percent from the field in the loss.
"We need to develop a team offense and trust each other," head coach Jim Walker said. "We weren't able to execute that and that's why the offense was ineffective. There were many factors that went in to it, but when you hesitate against a good team like this, you're going to have a tough time as a team."
Dickerson was still riding the high from his half-court buzzer-beater on Saturday to beat Mt. St. Mary, and he still had the touch on Tuesday night. The junior point guard got the Hounds out to an early lead with two shots from downtown hitting nothing but net.
"When we were struggling offensively, Izel was able to find opportunities to score, and score a lot," Walker said. "He was effective tonight, but unfortunately, we're not designed for that kind of offense. It's great to get that kind of effort from an individual. It would play more to our style if another guy or two came near that number."
Moravian went cold from the field midway through the first half, missing five straight shots and allowing the Mules to go on a four-point run to take a 16-12 lead. Senior center Cameron Cullen stopped that run by converting 1-of-2 free throws after being fouled under the basket.
Dickerson reached double-digits with eight minutes left in the first half to give the Greyhounds a 17-16 lead. Schreer responded with a three-pointer to put Muhlenberg back on top.
Senior guard Austin Curry gave the Mules their biggest lead of the first half to that point with 3:48 left before the break, hitting Muhlenberg's fourth three-point field goal of the game for the 27-20 lead. Muhlenberg finished with eight treys on 23 attempts (35 percent) on Tuesday.
The lead would be extended to nine as Muhlenberg used the double-bonus foul limit and some smart possession to take a 33-24 lead into the intermission.
Moravian shot 24 percent from the field in the first half, but outrebounded Muhlenberg 24-21. The score was tied three times, the last coming at 12-12 before the Mules mounted a lead.
The second half started with the Mules using momentum to build a 39-26 lead with 17:22 remaining. Dickerson stopped the bleeding with a personal four-point run on two made layups, but Muhlenberg, as they did all night, had an answer. The Mules' leading three-point shooter, Stavetski, nailed a triple for the 42-30 lead with 16:03 remaining.
Moravian entered the foul bonus with 13 minutes left in the second half. Three free throws and a layup by Garrett Kashmer highlighted a 5-0 run, but the Mules fired back with a five-point run of their own and the lead was back to 18 points with 10:57 left.
Another 5-0 run by the Mules stretched the lead to the biggest of the game at 58-37.
Dickerson wasn't done, however, as he brought the lead down to 11 with his third three-pointer of the game. The junior followed that up with a steal that led to his own fast-break layup and the Hounds trailed 61-50 with 5:39 left.
"We had some great chances tonight," Walker said. "We fought back near the end and the ball was moving well. There were glimpses of a good team offense tonight, we just need to extend that to 40 minutes."
Muhlenberg closed out the game with scoring runs of 7-2 and 8-3 to secure the 75-56 victory.
Senior guard Kenny Gula added seven points, four rebounds, two assists and a block. Cullen finished with five points, all of which were scored in the first half, and a team-high eight rebounds. Senior center Blake English scored seven points and added seven rebounds and three blocks.
Freshman forward Brandon McGuire continued to make the most of his minutes of the bench, scoring six points and grabbing five rebounds in 18 minutes of play.
With the win, Muhlenberg tied the 2013-14 Matte Award battle at five apiece, the Allentown school's third win in a row after picking up points in football and men's cross country on Saturday.
The Moravian men return to the court on Saturday, Nov. 23 with a road trip to Lebanon Valley College at 2 p.m. The Greyhounds return home next on Sunday, Dec. 1 with a non-conference matchup with Berkeley (N.J.) College at 3:00 p.m. on Parents' Day.
