Men's Basketball Downs DeSales, 66-64, in Overtime

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College men's basketball team defeated DeSales University, 66-64, in overtime at Tuesday night. Senior guard Garrett Johnson led the way for the Greyhounds with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Junior guard Mike Coleman for DeSales would get the first bucket of the game, but senior guard D.J. Strayhorn answered with a deep three-pointer. Strayhorn and junior guard Kenny Gula then hit back-to-back shots to make the score 7-2, Moravian right out of the gate.

Senior forward Brett Moyer rallied the Bulldogs back with two layups in a row to make the score 7-6, Greyhounds, just four minutes in. Minutes later, a three from the corner from senior guard Brian Kerwin gave the Bulldgos an 11-9 lead six minutes into the game. Junior center Blake English took the lead right back with a jumper and a layup on back-to-back possessions. A rainbow three from Kerwin knotted the contest back up at 14 with 11:35 to play in the first half.

A steal by English led to an easy layup for sophomore guard Izel Dickerson to make the score 17-16, DeSales with 8:35 to play in the half. Johnson hit a floater to tie the game, and then a three-pointer to take a 21-18 lead with 6:40 remaining in the half. Freshman forward Cody Deal tied the contest up at 23 for the Bulldogs with a three-pointer.

With four minutes left in the first half, Gula hit a deep three to give the lead back to the Greyhounds at 26-23. Johnson dash to the hoop while avoiding defenders to put Moravian up 30-27, but junior guard Kyle Hash answered with a three to tie the game at 30 with 1:33 remaining in the half. Another three from sophomore guard Michael Guldin put the Bulldogs up 33-30. Moyer added a last second layup to give DeSales a 35-30 lead going into halftime.

The Bulldogs shot 55-percent from the field while the Greyhounds shot 48-percent during the half. DeSales held a slight edge in rebounds at 14-13 while Moravian committed one less turnover. Johnson led the Hounds with 11 points in the first half while Moyer led the Bulldogs with 12 points.

Moravian would get the first bucket of the second half from senior forward Aaron Thieme, but junior guard Matt Poorman answered back with a layup to make the score 37-33. Back-to-back layups from Moyer extended DeSales lead to 43-34 five minutes into the second half.

Johnson ended the Bulldogs run with his own layup. English followed that with a breakaway layup after a steal from Strayhorn to make the score 43-38 six minutes in. A steal from Dickerson led to two more breakaway points by freshman forward Matt Bosch to make the score 44-40 with 12:30 left in the game. After two free throws from Kerwinb, a three from the corner for Dickerson made the score 46-43, DeSales with 12 minutes to play.

A jumper from junior guard Paul Pammer and a three from Hash pushed the Bulldogs lead back to six at 51-45 with 8:34 remaining in the game. Strayhorn cut the lead to 51-49 after he sliced through the lane and hit the tough layup with 5:45 left in the contest. A layup from Moyer extended DeSales lead back to five at 54-49 with 3:48 left in the game. Strayhorn answered right back with a three-pointer to make the score 54-52. After a backcourt call on DeSales, Strayhorn nailed another three for the one point lead at 55-54 with three minutes to go.

With the score a57-56 Moravian, Guldin drove to the hoop but English came up with a big block. Pammer then hit a jumper to put the Bulldogs back up 58-57. English then hit two free throws to take a 59-58 lead with 1:09 left in the game. With Hash driving to the hoop for the layup, English came up with another big block to keep Moravians lead intact with 35 seconds remaining. Gula then made one free throw for a 60-58 lead with 23 seconds left. Pammer would knot the game back up at 60 with one second remaining to send the contest into overtime.

The Greyhounds would get the first points in overtime after a fade away jumper from Gula. English pushed the Hounds lead to four after two made free throws with 1:50 left in overtime. Free throws from Moyer would make the score 64-62 with 1:37 remaining. A turnaround layup from Moyer knotted the game back up at 64 with under a minute to play. With under 15 seconds to go, Gula dashed under the hoop for the tough layup that went in for a 66-64 lead. Hash would get an open look in the corner from three-point range, but it hit the iron and bounced out as time expired to give the Greyhounds a 66-64 overtime victory.

Moravian shot 42-percent from the field while DeSales shot 37-percent. The Bulldogs held the edge in rebounds at 38-37 while committing two less turnovers in the game.

Strayhorn finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists while Gula had 12 points. English tallied up 12 points, four boards, three blokcs and two steals while Thieme had nine rebounds and three blocks. Dickerson added nine points in the game.

Moyer led DeSales with a game-high 26 points to go with his eight rebounds. Kerwin added eight points while Guldin had five points, four assists, three board and two steals.

The Greyhounds return to the court on Sunday, November 2th as they host Lebanon Valley College. The contest is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside Johnston Hall.