Men’s hoops falls in OT at home to Moravian, 84-80

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata College guard Kevin Stapleton's (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) 3-pointer in the waning seconds of regulation sent the Eagles into overtime against visiting Moravian College, but the Greyhounds took care of business at the free-throw line to eke out an 84-80 Landmark Conference men's basketball win on Friday night at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.

Trailing by five, 69-64, with 22 seconds remaining in regulation, Juniata guard Alex Raymond (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Altoona Area) converted a pair of foul shots to reduce the Moravian lead to one possession.

A Moravian turnover and steal by the Eagles' Lucas Mellott (Warfordsburg, Pa./Southern Fulton) underneath the Greyhound basketball returned possession to Juniata, and the ball eventually found its way into the hands of Stapleton – who coolly stroked the 3-pointer to tie the game.

Moravian's Izel Dickerson nearly hit a heart-breaking bucket to win the game at the buzzer, but his running jumper rimmed out of the basket and the game remained deadlocked at 69-69.

The Eagles (12-5, 4-2 Landmark) eventually held at 76-73 lead at the 2:54 mark of the overtime period, but a layup by the Greyhounds' Aaron Thieme and a conventional three-point play by Garrett Johnson tilted the lead in Moravian's favor, 78-76.

Johnson added another layup just over 30 seconds later, stretching the Moravian lead to four points, and the Greyhounds held on the rest of the way for the win. 

Moravian (9-8, 4-2 Landmark) was 7-of-9 at the free-throw line in the overtime period, and was 26-of-34 at the stripe over the entire game on Juniata's 25 fouls. The Greyhounds were called for 18 fouls, with the Eagles going 11-of-13 at the line. 

Juniata held a 39-30 lead coming out of the first half, which was erased on an 11-0 Moravian run lasting nearly four-and-a-half minutes and resulting in a 49-46 Greyhound lead at the 9:44 mark of the second stanza. There were four lead changes and two ties over the remainder of the frame, before Stapleton's trey to force overtime.

Stapleton led Juniata with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, including five 3-pointers. Raymond and Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College Area) each finished with 15 points and three treys, with Scholly also hauling down a team-high eight rebounds.

Raymond handed out six assists and recorded three steals, while sophomore guard Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W.Va./John Marshall) dished out 10 assists, most by a Juniata player this season.

Moravian's D.J. Strayhorn netted a game-high 28 points, while Kenny Gula tallied 16 points off the bench. Johnson and Jeff Cullinan each finished with 13.

Juniata completes the Landmark weekend on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 21, when it hosts the University of Scranton at 2:00 p.m. at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.

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