ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's basketball squad had a 21-point second half lead before host Elizabethtown College rallied back and forced overtime where the Greyhounds had a 21-3 scoring advantage to earn a 90-72 victory over the Blue Jays to begin the 2019-20 Landmark Conference season Saturday afternoon.
The Hounds had six players score in double figures led by junior guard Keith Otto, who netted a career-high 23 points to go with three rebounds and a pair of steals. Junior guard Matt O'Connor tossed in 15 points to go along with a career high six assists, five rebounds and two steals while senior forward Addis Ralph scored 14 points and had a team-high seven boards. Senior guard C.J. Barnes contributed 13 points, two rebounds and two assists while freshman guard Greg Eck had 11 points and three steals and junior forward John Rigsby added 10 points, five rebounds and two steals.
Senior guard Mike Martino had five assists, five rebounds and two points for the Blue and Grey while senior forward John Hargraves added two points. Junior guard Nick King dished out three assists and grabbed three boards.
The Blue Jays scored the first points of the game before a three-pointer by Eck moved the Hounds ahead, 3-2. Elizabethtown countered with a 7-0 run to take a 9-3 lead while Moravian answered with a 14-4 run to retake an 18-13 edge on a three-pointer by Otto and the 10:05 mark. The Blue and Grey continued to stretch the lead, seeing the advantage reach double digits at 34-22 after a three-pointer from O'Connor with 3:34 left in the first half. O'Connor drained another three-pointer in the final seconds of the half to send the Greyhounds to the locker room with a 43-27 advantage.
O'Connor also began the second half with a three-pointer for a 46-27 edge before the Blue Jays ran off seven straight points to cut the Moravian lead to 46-34. The Hounds stretched the lead again, reaching a game high 21 points at 56-35 after Rigsby drained two free throws with 13:32 remaining. Martino hit a jumper in the late with 6:46 left in regulation as the Blue and Grey led 67-48; however, the Greyhounds scored just two points in the remainder of the second half while Elizabethtown tied the game at 69-69 with 1:01 on the clock and had a three-pointer rim out at the buzzer to force overtime.
The overtime session would belong to Moravian as the squad had a 21-3 scoring edge in the extra five minutes. Otto scored just 14 seconds into overtime and started a 9-0 run that O'Connor capped with two free throws at the 2:43 mark as the Blue and Grey led 78-69. Otto eventually pushed the edge back to 20 points at 90-70 with just under a miunte to play as he sank two free throws.
The Greyhounds are not slated to return to action until Thursday, December 19 when the squad hosts Yeshiva (N.Y.) University in a non-conference game beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall.
