The Greyhounds (7-13 overall) improve to 5-4 in conference play the victory, which was their third straight Commonwealth win in Johnston Hall. Juniata falls to 8-13 overall and 3-7 in Commonwealth Conference action.
Moravian jumped out to an early lead and would trail the Eagles just twice in the game with Juniata's final lead of 23-21 with 8:30 remaining in the first half. The Greyhounds finished the first 20 minutes with a 21-9 run for a 42-32 halftime lead.
Moravian shot 48.1 percent (13 of 27) from the floor in the first half including four of eight behind the three-point line, and the Greyhounds were 12 of 15 from the charity stripe (80 percent). Moravian committed just six turnovers in the first half while forcing Juniata into 11 turnovers. The Eagles also shot 46.4 percent (13 of 28) from the field with two three-pointers and four free throws.
Moravian's lead never fell below seven points in the second half, and the Greyhounds had a 20-point lead or more for the final ten minutes. Moravian made 16 of 31 field goal attempts (51.5 percent) in the second half with four three-pointers while connecting on all 14 free throw attempts after the intermission.
Juniata, however, only shot 35.7 percent (ten for 28) from the field in the second half with five three-pointers and six of ten free throws. Moravian also had a 37-28 advantage on the boards in the victory.
The Greyhounds had three players in double figures led by senior forward Brandon Zaleski, who scored a game high 29 points. During the first half, Zaleski became the second men's basketball player in school history to surpass 1,800 career points. He currently has 1,818 points, just 48 points shy of the school record. Zaleski, who made his final 17 free throw attempts after missing his first of the game, also added seven rebounds and four steals.
Junior forward Zach Zsilavecz had 12 points and four rebounds for the Greyhounds while junior forward Steve Wenderfer contributed ten points, five rebounds and four assists. Freshman guard Ryan Miller added eight points, five assists and four rebounds in the victory while junior guard Ed Reid had eight points for the Greyhounds. Sophomore guard Michael Clemente contributed seven points to the victory while junior guard Joe Depasquale, sophomore forward Matt Devlin and freshman forward Mark Franzyshen each scored four points.
Chris Jasiota led Juniata with 12 points and three rebounds while Aaron Chamberlain added ten points and three boards for the Eagles.
Moravian will return to action on Wednesday, February 9th in a Commonwealth Conference game at Lebanon Valley College in Annville tipping off at 8 p.m. while Juniata will host Elizabethtown College on Tuesday, February 8th at 7:30 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Juniata College vs Moravian College 2/5/05 2:00 PM at Johnston Hall, Bethlehem, PA At Johnston Hall, Bethlehem, PA MORAVIAN COLLEGE 92, JUNIATA COLLEGE 63 JUNIATA COLLEGE (8-13, 3-7 Comm.) Chris Jasiota 4-9 4-5 12; Aaron Chamberlain 4-8 0-0 10; Tommy McConnell 3-7 1-1 7; Brian Cannon 2-5 2-3 7; Nick Hager 2-9 0-0 6; Travis Boyd 2-4 0-1 6; Steve Holencik 2-2 1-2 5; Neil Holloway 1-1 2-2 4; Jeff Byer 2-3 0-0 4; Justin Price 1-2 0-0 2; Joe Laprad 0-1 0-0 0; Nick Littleton 0-1 0-0 0; Brent Ferko 0-2 0-0 0; Kyle Opitz 0-1 0-0 0; Garrett Bull 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-56 10-14 63. MORAVIAN COLLEGE (7-13, 5-4 Comm.) Brandon Zaleski 6-10 17-18 29; Zach Zsilavecz 5-9 0-0 12; Steve Wenderfer 4-7 1-3 10; Ryan Miller 2-3 3-3 8; Ed Reid 3-5 0-0 8; Michael Clemente 3-6 0-0 7; Matt Devlin 1-3 2-2 4; Joe Depasquale 1-2 1-1 4; Mark Franzyshen 1-2 2-2 4; Chris Bays 1-3 0-0 2; Greg Jones 1-1 0-0 2; Chris Earley 1-1 0-0 2; Chris Betley 0-2 0-0 0; Justin Chestnut 0-2 0-0 0; Eric Whitman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-58 26-29 92. Juniata College............... 32 31 - 63 Moravian College.............. 42 50 - 92 3-point goals-Juniata College 7-19 (Travis Boyd 2-2; Nick Hager 2-6; Aaron Chamberlain 2-6; Brian Cannon 1-1; Kyle Opitz 0-1; Garrett Bull 0-1; Tommy McConnell 0-2), Moravian College 8-19 (Zach Zsilavecz 2-6; Ed Reid 2-3; Joe Depasquale 1-2; Steve Wenderfer 1-2; Ryan Miller 1-1; Michael Clemente 1-3; Chris Bays 0-1; Matt Devlin 0-1). Fouled out--Juniata College-None, Moravian College-None. Rebounds-Juniata College 28 (Chris Jasiota 3; Aaron Chamberlain 3; Brian Cannon 3), Moravian College 37 (Brandon Zaleski 7). Assists-Juniata College 13 (Tommy McConnell 5), Moravian College 20 (Ryan Miller 5). Total fouls-Juniata College 21, Moravian College 18. A-250