BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The second seeded Moravian College men's basketball team is set to travel to top seed Juniata College for the 2018 Landmark Conference Championship game on Saturday, February 24 with tip-off set for 2:00 p.m. in the Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center in Huntingdon.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children. All youth under the age of 10 are admitted free as are all students, faculty and staff with a valid ID from any of the eight Landmark Conference institutions. College students without a Landmark school ID and seniors are $3.
The Greyhounds advanced to the title contest with a 96-91 overtime victory over third seed Drew University in Johnston Hall Wednesday evening as the Blue and Grey won for the eighth time in nine games. The win was Moravian's second straight home semifinal victory in the last two seasons. Juniata earned a 77-70 win over fourth seed The Catholic University of America in Wednesday's other semifinal, and the winner of Saturday's championship tilt earns the conference's automatic berth to the 2018 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.
The Hounds are now 19-7 overall this season, tying the school record for wins for the second consecutive winter, and Moravian completed the Landmark regular season with a 10-4 mark while the Eagles are 22-4 overall and 10-4 in Landmark action. During the regular season, each team won on its home floor with Juniata capturing a 75-65 victory in Huntingdon on January 20 and the Greyhounds winning 96-84 in Johnston Hall on February 10. The Eagles are 14-0 in the Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center this winter.
Greyhounds' Head Coach Justin Potts has Moravian in the postseason for the second straight year in just his third season back at the school, and he has a 49-30 career record. The Blue and Grey are making their fourth trip to the Landmark Conference Tournament, and the Greyhounds have reached the 19-win plateau for just the fourth time in 81 seasons at Moravian. Saturday will be just Moravian's third trip to the conference title game in school history.
The Hounds enter the contest having already set four single season school records – most three-pointers with 301, most steals with 300, most blocked shots with 103 and most assists with 435, and Moravian needs just 75 points to break the single season scoring record. The Blue and Grey set marks with 22 three-pointers and 27 assists in a game versus Catholic on January 13.
Leading the squad on the court have been juniors guard Jimmy Murray and forward Oneil Holder, who became the 22nd and 23rd players to reach 1,000 career points at Moravian earlier this month. Murray is tossing in 17.8 points per game to go with 61 rebounds, 59 three-pointers, 55 assists and 40 steals, and he was selected to the Lehigh Valley Small College Basketball Team of the Year, while Holder is contributing 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest with 43 assists, 39 steals, 36 blocked shots and 15 three-pointers.
Sophomore forward C.J. Barnes is netting 10.8 points and grabbing 3.4 rebounds per outing to go along with 44 three-pointers, 29 steals, 12 assists and eight blocked shots while junior guard Nicholas Casazza is scoring 10.1 points per game with 68 three-pointers, 53 rebounds, 40 assists and 37 steals. Sophomore guard Elijah Davis is contributing 7.3 points per contest with 59 rebounds, 33 three-pointers, 32 steals, 29 assists and 11 blocked shots while senior guard Matt Cardonne has an average of 5.8 points per outing with 42 rebounds, 33 three-pointers, 21 assists and 10 steals.
Junior guard Will Brazukas leads the Greyhounds with 98 assists to go with a scoring average of 4.9 points per game, 47 rebounds. 22 steals and 10 three-pointers. Sophomore guard Mike Martino has dished out 82 assists to go with 75 points, 59 rebounds, 26 steals and 13 three-pointers while sophomore forward Addis Ralph has 98 points, 61 rebounds and 22 blocked shots. Senior forward Khalil Rhett has contributed 82 rebounds, 71 points, 26 steals and 21 assists while freshman guard Matt O'Connor has 51 points, 19 rebounds, 17 steals, 11 three-pointers and 10 assists in his debut season.
Freshman guard Keith Otto has 40 points and 14 rebounds for the Hounds while freshman guard Shon Wilson has added 32 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals. Senior forward Aaron Brown has 16 rebounds and six points in his return to the program this winter while sophomore guard Tyron Brown has seven points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
