SCRANTON, Pa. --- The Moravian University men's basketball team rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to hold a one-point lead with under a minute and a half to play before falling to host The University of Scranton, 72-69, in Landmark Conference action Wednesday evening as the Greyhounds played their final road game of the winter.

How It Happened

• The Hounds took a quick, 2-0, lead on a lay-up by freshman forward Marquis Ratcliff. The Blue & Grey had four two-point advantages in the opening eight minutes of action, and there were also two ties and six lead changes when Moravian was up 14-12 on a three-pointer by junior guard Alex Dietz at the 12:06 mark. The Royals took a 17-14 lead before another three-pointer from Dietz has the score tied once again at 17-17 midway through the opening half
• The Greyhounds were ahead 20-19 when freshman forward Uma Kalu hit a free throw with 8:25 on the clock; however, Scranton would go on a 12-0 run to build a 31-20 advantage with just over five minutes until the intermission. The Blue and Grey closed within six points twice, but the Royals took a 38-29 lead into the locker room
• Moravian slowly chipped away to start the second half with a three-pointer by sophomore guard/forward Michael Leonardo making it a three-point contest at 42-39 for Scranton with 15:50 to go. The Greyhounds knotted the game for the sixth time at 49-49 on a lay-up from freshman forward Liam Cummiskey, and the Blue & Grey retook the lead at 52-51 on a three-pointer by Cummiskey with just under 10 minutes on the clock
• The Hounds' advantage was three points at 56-53 after a jumper from Cummiskey, but once again the Royals went on a run to move back ahead 62-56. Cummiskey drained a three-pointer for the eighth tie of the night at 62-62 with 3:53 to play. From that point, there were seven lead changes with the Greyhounds' final advantage of the contest coming with 1:25 to go as Leonardo sank a three-pointer for a 69-68 edge. However, Moravian did not score again as Scranton hit a jumper and two free throws for the win 

Inside the Numbers

• Moravian had three players in double figures with Dietz netting a game-high 18 points to go along with seven assists and two rebounds. Ratcliff finished with 14 points, 12 coming in the first half, to go with eight rebounds, two assists and a pair of blocked shots while Cummiskey tossed in a career-high 10 points to go with four boards
• Leonardo came close to a triple-double with 10 assists, nine points and eight rebounds to go with two blocked shots while junior forward Mike DiPietro had eight points and three boards. Leonardo's 10 assists make him the eighth Greyhound in program history to dish out 100 assists in a single season, and his total of 100 this winter is the 10th best season in school history
• Kelly recorded five points and three assists while senior guard Nate Dougherty and sophomore forward Nate Santiago each had two points with Dougherty grabbing three rebounds. Kalu had one point in the contest
• The Hounds shot 25-for-55 from the field, 12-for-26 on three-pointers and 7-for-9 at the foul line
• The Blue & Grey did have a 36-28 edge in rebounds including 10-6 on the offensive glass

Up Next for the Greyhounds

• Saturday, February 18 vs. Susquehanna University, 4:00 p.m.