BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team dropped an 85-79 decision to SUNY Oswego Sunday afternoon in Johnston Hall in the second day of the 40th Steel Club Classic.
The Greyhounds, who are 6-6 this winter, had three players in double figures led by senior guard C.J. Barnes, who netted a career-best 29 points to go with three rebounds and a pair of assists. Freshman guard Greg Eck tossed in a career-high 23 points to go with three boards while junior guard Matt O'Connor added 17 points and three rebounds.
Senior forward Addis Ralph contributed six points and four boards for the Blue and Grey while freshman guard Nate Dougherty had four points and two rebounds in his first collegiate start. Senior guard Mike Martino dished out nine assists to go with two rebounds while senior forward John Hargraves added four boards.
Barnes opened the scoring with a lay-up and Eck followed with a jumper for a 4-0 lead. The duo hit back-to-back three-pointers to push Moravian's lead out to 15-6 with just under 13 minutes left in the opening half. The Lakers slowly closed the game and would knot the contest at 19-19 with 7:08 on the clock. The Greyhounds answered with five straight points to retake a 24-19 on a three-point play by Barnes with 4:52 before halftime. Oswego scored nine of the 10 points of the half to head to the locker room with a 28-25 lead.
The Lakers opened a quick seven-point lead to start the second half before the Hounds closed within two points at 34-32 on a three-pointer from O'Connor three minutes into action after the break. Ralph made a layup to keep it a two-point game before Oswego netted nine straight points to push its edge to 11 at 45-34 with 15:05 left. The lead moved up to 12 points at 53-41 before Moravian slowly climbed back within a point at 57-56 after two free throws from Eck with 8:27 remaining. O'Connor would give the Blue and Grey a 64-62 lead when he connected on a three-pointer with 4:32 on the clock, and Moravian was up 67-65 with 3:53 to go on another three-pointer from O'Connor. However, the Lakers netted six straight points to move in front for good. Eck made it a one-point game at 71-70 on a three-pointers with 2:14 left before Oswego pulled away.
The Hounds are slated to return to the court on Saturday, January 11 when the team welcomes The Catholic University of America for a Landmark Conference game starting at 2:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall.
