BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University men's basketball team earned its first victory of the 2021-22 season in its home opener in Johnston Hall Monday evening as the Greyhounds defeated visiting Penn State Brandywine, 82-62. 

How It Happened

• The Hounds scored the first five points of the game on a lay-up from sophomore forward Mike DiPietro and a three-pointer by sophomore guard Alex Dietz. Moravian led 11-3 after a lay-up by sophomore forward Thomas Abato at the 15:19 mark before the Nittany Lions scored 11 straight points to move ahead 14-11
• Penn State Brandywine pushed the lead out to 18-13 with 7:09 to go in the first half. The Blue and Grey would retake the lead for good at 24-21 on a three-pointer from junior guard Nate Dougherty with 5:21 until the intermission. Dietz hit a late jumper to send the Greyhounds to the locker room with a 35-31 lead
• Dougherty began the second half with another three-pointer, and then Dougherty finished off a 12-2 run to start the half with a three-pointer to make it a 47-33 lead with just under 15 and a half minutes to play. Moravian kept the advantage above nine points the rest of the way 

Firsts for the Hounds

• Mike Frew '02 earned his first win as Interim Head Coach of his alma mater
• Junior forward Joe Paulillo made his first appearance of the season

Inside the Numbers

• Moravian has a trio of players in double figures led Dougherty, who netted a career-high 21 points. Cooper tossed in a career-best 20 points while Dietz contributed 11 points to tie his career high
• Deitz also had career highs of eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals while Dougherty had a career-best six assists with four rebounds and Cooper dished out three assists
• Freshman forward Nate Santiago contributed career highs for eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots while DiPietro added seven points and four rebounds
• Abato also had seven points and a career high eight rebounds while freshman forward Michael Leonardo grabbed a career-best six rebounds to go with two points. Paulillo contributed four points and two rebounds while sophomore guard/forward James Thompson had two points and two assists
• The Greyhounds finished the contest with a 46-36 advantage in rebounds, and the Blue and Grey also had 24 assists in the game

Up Next for the Greyhounds

• Tuesday, November 16 vs. Delaware Valley University, 7:00 p.m.
• Friday, November 19 vs. Misericordia University, 7:00 p.m.