February 12, 2025
Moravian Clinches Landmark Conference Tournament Berth with Victory at Scranton
SCRANTON, Pa. --- The Moravian University men’s basketball team clinched a berth in the 2025 Landmark Conference Tournament with an 88-75 victory at The University of Scranton Wednesday evening.
SCRANTON, Pa. --- The Moravian University men's basketball team clinched a berth in the 2025 Landmark Conference Tournament with an 88-75 victory at The University of Scranton Wednesday evening.
How It Happened
- The Greyhounds opened the scoring with a pair of free throws by junior forward Marquis Ratcliff, and graduate student guard Alex Dietz added a three-pointer for a 5-0 lead. The Blue & Grey were up 10-4 after a three-pointer by junior guard Porter Kelly before the Royals rallied to tie the game at 10-10. Moravian countered with a 10-3 run to move ahead 20-13 on a three-pointer from Ratcliff while Scranton netted nine straight points to take a 22-20 edge with 10:15 left in the first half
- The Royals continued the run and built a 32-24 advantage with 6:25 until the intermission. The Hounds battled back and moved back in front 34-33 on a three-pointer by Dietz at the 3:52 mark. The squads traded the lead for the rest of the half with Moravian heading to the locker room up 43-42 on a late three-pointer from senior guard/forward Michael Leonardo
- Scranton hit the opening basket of the second half to move ahead by a point before junior guard Chad Kratzer drained a three-pointer to put the Blue & Grey up 46-44. The Greyhounds stretched the edge to 57-49 on a three-point play from Ratcliff at 16:37 before the Royals rallied once again to knot the contest at 64-64 with 10:21 remaining
- The game went back-and-forth over the next three and a half minutes with Scranton holding a 71-68 edge with 6:28 to go. Moravian's defense did not allow the Royals to score again until the 1:58 mark while the Hounds rolled off 16 straight points for an 84-71 lead on a three-pointer by Kratzer with 2:16 on the clock. Ratcliff sealed the win with two free throws at the 1:12 mark
- The Hounds will be making their first postseason appearance since the 2019-20 season
Inside the Numbers
- Moravian put all five starters in double figures as the starting lineup netted all 88 points in the contest
- Ratcliff tossed in a career-high 34 points, his eighth career game of 30 or more points, and he added ten rebounds for his 26th career double-double
- Kratzer netted 18 points to go with three rebounds and two assists while Dietz added 15 points, three assists, two steals and two boards
- Leonardo finished with 11 points, eight assists and seven rebounds while Kelly had ten points, five rebounds and four assists
- The Greyhounds shot 20-for-54 from the field, 13-for-28 beyond the three-point line and 17-for-22 at the charity stripe
- The Blue & Grey had a 30-28 edge on the boards and turned the ball over just nine times
Up Next for the Greyhounds
- Saturday, February 15 at Lycoming College, 4:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, February 19 vs. Wilkes University, 7:00 p.m.
