BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's basketball team began its shortened 2021 season Friday evening by hosting Landmark Conference foe Juniata College in Johnston Hall with the Eagles coming out on top, 75-69.

How It Happened

• The Greyhounds jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and had a 9-2 advantage after a three-pointer from senior guard Keith Otto with 16:30 left in the opening half
• Moravian also led by seven points, 11-4, after senior guard Matt O'Connor had connected on a lay-up at the 11:44 mark
• Juniata went on a 16-2 run to build a 20-13 lead with 8:22 to go in the first half, and the Eagles would stretch the lead to 18 points at 35-17 with just over four minutes left in the opening half before heading to the locker room with a 42-26 lead
• In the second half, the Hounds closed within nine points, 50-41, after two free throws from O'Connor at the 13:43 mark but the Eagles countered to push the edge back to 16 points
• The closest that Moravian would get would be five points, 74-69, after a three-pointer by Otto with just three seconds to play 

Firsts for the Hounds

• Moravian had six players see their first action in a Greyhound uniform including sophomore Joe Paulillo and freshmen Mike DiPietro, Alex Dietz, C.J. Weber, Tyler Mish and James Thompson 
• Sophomore Nate Dougherty netted double figures for the first time in his career with 10 points

Inside the Numbers

• Moravian had four players in double figures with O'Connor scoring a game-high 21 points, the 21st game of his career in double digits. Otto added 18 points for his sixth career double-figure game while sophomore Greg Eck contributed 17 points for his 11th career contest in double digits. Dougherty added 10 points.
• The Greyhounds forced the Eagles into 20 turnovers while committing just 11 in the game

Up Next for the Greyhounds

• Sunday, February 7 at Juniata College, 4:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, February 9 at The University of Scranton, 7:00 p.m.