BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Senior guard C.J. Barnes netted a team-high 23 points including the 1,000th of his collegiate career to lead the Moravian College men's basketball team to an 83-70 victory over visiting Immaculata University in non-conference action in Johnston Hall Saturday afternoon in the Greyhounds' final athletic event of 2019.
The Hounds, who head into a 13-day break for the holidays with a 6-4 record, had a total of four players in double figures. Barnes became Moravian's 24th 1,000-point scorer for the men's program when he drained the first of three free throws with 4:01 to play, and he now has 1,004 points in 94 career games. Barnes also contributed seven rebounds and a pair of assists in the victory while junior guard Matt O'Connor had 20 points, a career-high nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Senior forward Addis Ralph added 12 points and seven boards while freshman guard Greg Eck netted 11 points to go with five rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
Senior forward John Hargraves had six points, two rebounds, a pair of steals and two blocked shots while freshman guard Nate Dougherty added four points. Junior guard Deandre Tillett had two points, two rebounds and three assists in his first game with the Greyhounds while junior guard Nick King contributed three points and three boards. Senior guard Mike Martino had five rebounds, two points, two steals and four assists to give him 202 career assists, the 11th player in school history to reach the mark.
Barnes opened the scoring with a three-pointer 50 seconds into action, and another three-pointer from O'Connor had the Hounds up 6-3. The Mighty Macs took the lead with a three-pointer to make it 10-8, and Immaculata eventually stretched its edge to nine points at 21-12 with 9:22 remaining in the half. The Mighty Macs were still up nine at 26-17 with 7:42 before the intermission but the Greyhounds' defense limited Immaculata to six points the rest of the half while the Blue and Grey poured inn 18 points over the final 6:19. Eck hit two free throws to put Moravian back in front 33-32, and O'Connor drove the late for a late lay-up as the Hounds headed to the locker room with a 35-32 advantage.
Hargraves connected on a lay-up to start the scoring in the second half before the Mighty Macs scored five straight points to knot the score at 37-37 with 18:41 on the clock. Ralph answered with two free throws 24 seconds later as the Blue and Grey retook the lead for good. Immaculata made it a one-point game at 42-41 before a 9-0 run from the Greyhounds capped by an O'Connor three-pointer had the Hounds' edge in double digits at 53-43 with 13:38 left to play. The Mighty Macs would get no closer than five points while Moravian eventually pushed the lead to 20 points at 81-61 with 2:25 left.
Barnes entered the game needing 19 points to reach 1,000, and he had 13 in the first half. Sitting one point away, he was fouled on a three-point attempt and would sink all three free throws with the first hitting the milestone. The Greyhounds were a perfect 14-for-14 at the foul line in the contest with Barnes going 7-for-7 to improve his season free throw percentage to 91.5 percent and his career mark to 86.0 percent (191-of-222), currently tops in the Hounds' record book.
Moravian is scheduled to return to action on Saturday, January 4 in the opening day of the 40th Steel Club Classic when the Greyhounds host Ithaca (N.Y.) College in Johnston Hall with tip-off set for 4:30 p.m.