Graduate student guard Danny Cooper drives towards the basket in the second half versus Marywood University in Johnston Hall. Photo by Avery Saladino '24
Graduate student guard Danny Cooper drives towards the basket in the second half versus Marywood University in Johnston Hall. Photo by Avery Saladino '24
November 27, 2022

Moravian Falls to Marywood in Hard-Fought, Back-and-Forth Contest

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University men’s basketball squad fell to visiting Marywood University, 78-72 in a hard-fought, back-and-forth non-conference game in Johnston Hall Sunday afternoon.

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BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University men's basketball squad fell to visiting Marywood University, 78-72 in a hard-fought, back-and-forth non-conference game in Johnston Hall Sunday afternoon.

How It Happened

  • The Greyhounds took a 3-0 lead on a three-pointer from junior forward Mike DiPietro on the Hounds' first possession of the afternoon. DiPietro snapped a 7-7 tie with a lay-up at the 15:44 mark that began a 12-0 run for the Blue and Grey as Moravian stretched the lead out to 19-7 on a three-pointer from junior guard C.J. Weber with 12:38 to play in the opening half
  • Moravian led 23-12 after a jumper by junior guard Alex Dietz at the 9:13 mark before the Pacers closed within three points at 24-21 with just over five minutes until the intermission. DiPietro made it 29-24 a minute later. However, Marywood went on a 7-0 run to move ahead 31-29. Graduate student guard Danny Cooper hit a driving lay-up with a little over a minute before halftime to send the squads to the locker room knotted at 31-31
  • The Pacers hit the first shot of the second half to take a quick 33-31 edge before freshman guard Porter Kelly drained a three-pointer to put the Hounds back on top 34-33. Marywood retook the lead and pushed the advantage to six points at 41-35, and the Pacers were still ahead 47-42 with just over 14 minutes remaining. The Greyhounds answered with a 6-0 run to retake the lead 48-47 at the 13:31 mark, and Moravian stretched the run to 13-1 as the Blue & Grey extended the advantage to 55-48 on a lay-up by Dietz with 12:20 to go
  • The Greyhounds had a 59-52 edge on a Cooper lay-up midway through the second half; however, Marywood slowly chipped away and closed within a point at 61-60 with 6:40 to go. The Pacers eventually took a 66-63 lead when Cooper knotted the score at 66-66 with a three-pointer. Marywood scored the next three points and held the advantage for the remainder of the contest with Moravian getting within a point on two occasions, but the Hounds would never retake the lead 

Inside the Numbers

  • Moravian had three players in double figures led by Cooper, who tossed in 21 points to go with four assists and four rebounds. Freshman forward Marquis Ratcliff had his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds while Dietz netted 10 points to go along with four assists
  • DiPietro contributed nine points, four boards and a pair of assists while Kelly had eight points and a career-best eight rebounds. Weber tossed in six points while sophomore forward Nate Santiago added four points. Sophomore guard/forward Michael Leonardo had three rebounds, three assists and two points in the contest
  • The Greyhounds were 26-for-65 from the floor, 8-for-35 beyond the three-point line and 12-for-16 at the foul line in the game, and the Hounds had a 36-35 edge on the boards
  • Moravian forced the Pacers into 15 turnovers while committing 13 miscues 

Up Next for the Greyhounds

  • Wednesday, November 30 at Cabrini University, 7:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, December 3 vs. The Catholic University of America, 4:00 p.m.