Men's Basketball Rallies Past Kean, 66-57

The Moravian College men's basketball team defeat Kean University 66-57 in non-conference action Monday evening. Leading the way for the Greyhounds was junior guard Garrett Johnson, who put up 16 points and five rebounds.

The Cougars would start the game on a 9-0 run with baskets made from sophomore guard Michael Burton and junior guard Anthony Gibson. Johnson would lay in a basket six minutes into the game for Moravian's first bucket. Classmate guard D.J. Strayhorn would hit the jumper 30 seconds later to make the score 9-4.

Kean would extend its lead to 13-4 with 12:34 remaining in the first half. The Greyhounds would fight back into the game by going on a 14-2 run over the next six minutes capped off by a three-pointer from freshman guard Izel Dickerson to give Moravian a 18-15 lead. Johnson, Stayhorn, junior forward Aaron Thieme and senior forward Jeff Cullinan all contributed points during that 14-2 run.

Sophomore forward Kyle Latorre made it 18-17 with a basket of his own, but Johnson would respond with a deep three to make it 21-17 with 2:21 remaining in the half. The Cougars would then go on a 6-0 run with Latorre scoring all of Kean's points to take a 23-21 lead with under 30 seconds left in the half. Sophomore forward Cameron Cullen would hit an easy layup as time ran out in the half to tie the game at 23 as the teams headed to the locker room.

The Greyhounds shot 31 percent from the field while the Cougars shot 32 percent from the field in the first half. Kean also held the edge in rebounds at 22 to 15. Moravian was led by Johnson with seven points and a steal in the first half while Latorre led Kean with ten points and 12 rebounds in the first half.

Strayhorn would start the second half with a quick jumper, and senior forward Marcus Hardy (Hanover, PA/Southwestern) would hit two free throws on the next possession to take a 27-23 lead one minute in. Dickerson would hit the bucket to extend Moravian's lead to 29-23 two minutes into the half. Burton would end the Greyhounds run with a bucket of his own on the next possession.

Johnson would answer back with a jumper of his own, and that would start a 9-0 capped off with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Kenny Gula as Moravian held a 38-25 lead with 13 minutes to go. Junior guard Branly Cadet would end the Greyhounds run with a basket to make the score 38-27.

Kean would make the score 40-32 after a three from Burton, but Cullinan would respond with one of his own to push Moravian's lead back to 11 points. With 10:35 remaining in the contest. Latorre would make the score 45-38 with eight minutes left in the game. The Greyhounds would then go on a 9-2 run with points from Strayhorn, Johnson and Cullen to put Moravian up 54-40 with five minutes to go in the game.

Cadet would bring the Cougars within 11 points of the lead with 2:13 remaining, but Dickerson would nail two free throws to put the Hounds back up by 13 with 1:43 left in the contest. Sophomore guard Ryan Duffy responded with a three-pointer to make the score 58-48 with 1:30 remaining. Two more free throws made by Gula with just under a minute to go would seal the victory as Moravian would go onto win 66-57.

Strayhorn had ten points, three steals, three assists and three boards while Cullinan had eight points and four rebounds. Cullen brought down six boards to go with his seven points while Hardy had six rebounds and four points.

Latorre led the Cougars with a double-double off of 14 points and 16 rebounds. Burton had 16 points and four rebounds while Gibson had seven points and two assists.

Moravian shot 39 percent from the field while Kean shot 40 percent from the field for the game. The Cougars held a slight edge in rebounds at 34 to 32, and the Greyhounds had nine less turnovers than Kean.

The Greyhounds return to action Friday, January 13th when they host Landmark Conference foe The United States Merchant Marine Academy. The contest is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.