MADISON, N.J. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team couldn't overcome a poor shooting first half as the Greyhounds dropped their first Landmark Conference game of 2017-18, falling at Drew University, 87-80, Wednesday evening.
The Hounds, who are now 10-4 overall and 2-1 in Landmark Conference play, did have five players in double figures in the contest with junior guard Jimmy Murray tossing in a team-high 19 points including 17 in the second half. Sophomore forward C.J. Barnes added 17 points and four rebounds while junior forward Oneil Holder had his third double-double of the season and the 10th of his career with 13 points and 11 rebounds to go with six assists, three steals and a pair of blocked shots. Junior guard Nicholas Casazza tossed in 11 points and had four assists off of the bench while junior guard Will Brazukas had 10 points, five assists and three boards.
Senior guard Matt Cardonne tossed in six points while sophomore guard Elijah Davis added four points, four rebounds and three steals. Senior forward Khalil Rhett grabbed three rebounds while sophomore forward Addis Ralph had two boards.
Moravian finished the game shooting 29-of-67 from the floor but the Hounds were just 10-for-27 in the first 20 minutes of action when they trailed by 10 points. The Blue and Grey also made 10 three-pointers and were 12-for-16 at the foul line. Moravian's pressure defense did force the Rangers into 20 turnovers including 11 in the second half when the Greyhounds outscored Drew, 49-46.
Holder and Murray opened the game with baskets as Moravian had an early 4-0 lead before Drew took a 7-4 edge. Barnes had a three-point play to knot the score and a three-pointer from Casazza had the Greyhounds up 10-7 with 15 minutes left in the half. Davis added a pair of free throws for a 12-7 advantage before Drew scored 10 straight points for a 17-12 edge and the lead for the rest of the game. The Hounds would get within three points before a late run by the Rangers had Drew take a 41-31 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
The Rangers pushed their lead to 15 points, 59-44, with just over 12 minutes remaining before three-pointers from Cardonne, Barnes and Murray closed the gap to six points, 59-53, with 10 minutes to play. Moravian would close within four points twice late in the half including being down 81-77 with ten seconds left after a pair of Murray free throws but the Rangers hit four free throws and a lay-up in the final nine seconds to finish off the game.
Moravian is slated to return to action on Saturday, January 17 when the squad hosts The Catholic University of America in a Landmark Conference game tipping off at 2:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall as the Greyhounds host Take a Kid to the Game Day.
