WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Moravian College sophomore guard Jimmy Murray scored a career-high 33 points for the Greyhounds including a late driving lay-up to force overtime but the Hounds were unable to pull off a Landmark Conference win on the road, falling to host The Catholic University of America, 89-84, in overtime Saturday afternoon.
Moravian is now 9-6 overall and 2-2 in Landmark Conference play after the contest.
Murray, who was one of three Greyhounds to reach double figures in the game, went over 30 points for the second time in his career, and he was 11-for-19 from the field, 6-for-9 beyond the three-point line and 5-for-5 at the foul line for his 33 points. Murray also added a career-best five rebounds and four assists in the game.
Sophomore forward Oneil Holder tossed in 13 points with two boards while sophomore forward Jake McGee added 12 points and two rebounds for the Greyhounds. Freshman forward John Hargraves and sophomore guard Nicholas Casazza each had six points with Hargraves adding four rebounds while seniors forward Brandon McGuire and guard Sean Hanna each had five points. McGuire grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists to go with a pair of steals while Hanna had two boards.
Freshman guard C.J. Barnes tossed in three points with two rebounds while senior guard Isaiah Jennings dished out a career high nine assists to go with three rebounds and one point. Junior guard Khalil Rhett also grabbed three boards for Moravian.
The teams got off to a sluggish start scoring in the first half with the Cardinals scoring the first points two minutes into the game. Holder followed with a lay-up at 17:54 to get the Greyhounds on the board. Moravian took its first lead 11-10 on a three-pointer by McGee with 13:28 on the clock, and a three-pointer by Murray a minute and a half later would give the Blue and Grey the advantage for the rest of the half.
Murray pushed Moravian's lead to 13 points, 38-25, with a three-pointer with just over three minutes until the intermission; however, that was the Greyhounds' final points of the first half as Catholic closed with a 10-0 run. The Hounds were 8-for-12 on three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of action and headed to the locker room with a 38-35 advantage at the intermission.
Murray hit a long three-pointer to give Moravian at the 17:17 mark as the Blue and Grey led 45-40. The Cardinals tied the game at 45-45 and would eventually pull ahead at 52-49 before Casazza connected on his second three-pointer of the afternoon to knot the score again at 52-52 with 14:11 to play. The Cardinals scored the next six points before a three-pointer by McGee got the Hounds within a point, 60-59, with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
Holder converted on a three-point play at the 8:13 mark as Moravian moved back in front, 65-62, but a pair of free throws from the Cardinals with 6:59 on the clock put Catholic back in the lead. The Cardinals held that advantage until 1:11 when McGee hit a three-pointer to knot the score at 77-77, and Murray's driving lay-up with just under five seconds to go forced overtime, Moravian's second overtime contest of the year.
The squads traded baskets in the first 40 seconds of the extra session, and the Hounds took their first and only lead of the overtime at the 2:55 mark on a three-point play by Murray as Moravian moved ahead 84-83. With Catholic leading 87-84 and less than 15 seconds to play, Murray missed a tying three-pointer, and the Hounds turned the ball over late as Catholic scored just before the buzzer.
The Greyhounds are slated to return to action on Wednesday, January 18 in a Landmark Conference contest at the University of Scranton beginning at 7:00 p.m.
