CENTER VALLEY, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team turned a one-point halftime lead into a 13-point non-conference victory at DeSales University Tuesday evening at Billera Hall in the annual Tuesday before Thanksgiving game between the two local schools.
The Greyhounds improved to 4-2 on the year and had three players in double figures led by senior guard C.J. Barnes, who tossed in a team-high 19 points to go with a pair of steals. Junior guard Matt O'Connor had 17 points, three rebounds and two assists while senior forward Addis Ralph netted 12 points to go with a career-high eight rebounds and two steals.
Senior forward John Hargraves added nine points, three rebounds and two steals while junior guard Keith Otto and senior guard Mike Martino both had eight points with Martino also having five assists, five steals and two rebounds. Junior forward John Rigsby contributed four points, five rebounds, a pair of assists and two steals while freshman guard Greg Eck had four points and two boards.
The first half was a series of runs with the Bulldogs netting a pair of three-pointers to start the scoring. Hargaves would get the Greyhounds on the scoreboard a minute and a half into action, and his basket started an 18-3 run with a three-point field goal from Barnes giving the Blue and Grey an 18-9 edge with 14 minutes left in the first half. DeSales countered with a 13-0 run to move ahead 23-18 just over three minutes later. Ralph eventually knotted the game again at 27-27 on a lay-up with eight minutes before the intermission, and the Hounds took the lead back on a jumper from Barnes. Ralph connected on a free throw in the final minute of the half to send Moravian to the locker room with a 43-42 edge.
Otto started the second half with a free throw and then a lay-up as the Greyhounds pushed their edge to five points at 47-42. The Bulldogs fought back and moved in front, 50-48, with 14:42 on the clock. Rigsby would give the Blue and Grey the lead for good on the next trip down the floor when he hit a three-pointer. DeSales was within a point, 53-52, at the 12:25 mark when O'Connor hit a jumper in the lane, a three-pointer and two free throws to stretch Moravian's lead to 60-52 with 9:13 remaining. The Bulldogs would get no closer than five points the rest of the way while a three-point play by Ralph with 3:39 left pushed the Blue and Grey's lead into double digits for the remainder of the contest.
The Greyhounds are scheduled to return to action on Sunday, December 1 when the squad heads to Johns Hopkins University for a non-conference game beginning at 3:00 p.m. in Baltimore.
