January 7, 2026
Greyhounds Unable to Rally in Second Half Versus Catholic
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University men’s basketball squad cut a nine-point second half deficit to two points; however, the Greyhounds would get no closer, falling to visiting The Catholic University of America Cardinals, 90-80, in Landmark Conference action Wednesday afternoon in Johnston Hall.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University men's basketball squad cut a nine-point second half deficit to two points; however, the Greyhounds would get no closer, falling to visiting The Catholic University of America Cardinals, 90-80, in Landmark Conference action Wednesday afternoon in Johnston Hall.
How It Happened
- The Hounds jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead as senior forward Marquis Ratcliff hit a lay-up and a three-pointer on the first two possessions of the contest. After the Cardinals got on the scoreboard, the Blue & Grey stretched the edge out to nine points at 11-2 after a Ratcliff lay-up at the 15:59 mark. Senior guard Chad Kratzer drained a three-pointer to push the Moravian advantage to ten points at 14-4 while Ratcliff connected on a lay-up at the 11:06 mark for a 21-10 lead
- The Greyhounds' edge reached a game-high 12 points at 26-14 with 9:05 to go in the first half while Kratzer had a lay-up after a steal, and the Blue & Grey held a 32-20 advantage with 7:01 left in the opening half when junior guard Joel Baez hit a lay-up. However, the Hounds went nearly six minutes without scoring while Catholic went on a 14-0 run to move ahead 34-32. Kratzer connected on a lay-up to knot the contest at 34-34 before the Cardinals finished the half with a 6-1 run the final minute to head to the locker room with a 40-35 lead
- The Cardinals netted the first three points of the second half for an eight-point edge before a jumper and a three-pointer from Ratcliff made it 45-40. Catholic pushed out to a nine-point advantage of 54-45 with just under 15 minutes left in the contest, and the Cardinals were still up nine at 61-52 with 11:25 to go
- Moravian closed withing two points at 67-65 on a three-pointer by senior forward Liam Cummiskey with 8:14 on the clock, but that would be as close as the Blue & Grey would get as a 12-1 run for Catholic pushed the Cardinals lead into double digits with 4:16 remaining
- The Greyhounds welcomed the entire student body from William Penn Elementary School just up the street to the game, the third straight year that Moravian has hosted the William Penn students for an afternoon game during the first full week of January
Inside the Numbers
- Moravian had two players in double figures led by Ratcliff, who tossed in a game-high 31 points, his fifth 30-point game of the season and 13th of his career, to go along with three rebounds and four blocked shots to set the school record in career blocked shots at 182. Ratcliff also moved into third all-time at Moravian with 1,684 points
- Kratzer netted 20 points off the bench and had two rebounds, two assists and one steal while senior guard Porter Kelly finished with nine points, four boards, and five assists
- Baez registered eight points with six rebounds and one assist as Cummiskey contributed six points, four boards, and one assist
- Sophomore guard Dylan Costa and junior guard/forward Riley Flood each recorded three points off the bench for the Hounds
- Junior guard George Cutler added two assists while sophomore guard JJ Kolumber had two steals
- The Hounds shot 26-for-57 from the field (45.6 percent), 13-for-33 on three-pointers and 15-for-21 at the four line
Up Next for the Greyhounds
- Sunday, January 11 at Lycoming College, 1:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, January 14 at Goucher College, 7:00 p.m.
