Despite the loss, the Blue Jays, 15-9 overall and 7-7 in Commonwealth Conference action, still clinched the fourth seed in the Commonwealth Conference Tournament due to Susquehanna University's loss to Lebanon Valley College. Moravian finishes the year at 9-16 overall and 4-10 in conference action.
The game was close early in the first half with an 8-8 tie at the 14:18 mark. Elizabethtown went on a 16-6 run to take a 22-14 lead with 6:21 remaining before the intermission; however, Moravian countered with a 9-1 run to tie the contest at 23-23 with 3:47 before the break. The Blue Jays went into halftime with a 30-29 lead.
Moravian shot very well in the first half, making 11 of 19 field goal attempts (57.9 percent), two of three three-pointers and five of six free throws (83.3 percent) while Elizabethtown was 11 of 25 (44.0 percent) from the floor, three of 11 on three-pointers and five of seven (71.4 percent) at the foul line. The Greyhounds had a 12-11 edge on the boards, but Moravian committed 20 turnovers in the first 20 minutes while Elizabethtown had 15 miscues.
Coming out of the break, Moravian quickly built a 37-32 lead with 17:52 to play, and the Greyhounds would push the lead to 43-35 over the next three minutes. Moravian led 49-42 with 12:22 on the clock when the Blue Jays went on a 9-0 run to take a 51-49 lead with 10:36 remaining. Over the next four minutes, the game was tied twice with Elizabethtown building a brief lead each time after the tie.
The final tie was at 61-61 with 6:21 remaining. The Blue Jays scored the next bucket before Moravian took the lead for good, 64-63, on a three-pointer by junior guard Michael Clemente with 5:40 remaining. The Greyhounds, who entered the week ranked ninth in the nation in free throw shooting, scored six of their final ten points at the foul line to ice the victory.
Moravian shot even better from the floor in the second half, making 14 of 22 field goal attempts (63.6 percent) and five of eight three-pointers (62.5 percent); however, the Greyhounds were just 12 of 18 (66.7 percent at the foul line). Moravian only committed five turnovers in the second half but was out-rebounded by Elizabethtown, 16-10, after the break.
The Blue Jays shot 12 of 22 (54.5 percent) from the field in the second half, and Elizabethtown was three of five behind the three-point line and 13 of 19 (68.4 percent) at the foul line while committing seven turnovers in the second half.
Moravian, which was celebrating senior day, had five players score in double figures led by senior forward Zach Zsilavecz, who netted a game high 18 points. Clemente tossed in 13 points while going three-for-three behind the three-point line while senior forward Ed Reid had 12 points and three rebounds.
Sophomore forward Mark Franzyshen and sophomore guard Justin Chestnut each netted ten points in the win for Moravian with Franzyshen grabbing a team high five rebounds. Sophomore guard Ryan Miller led the Greyhounds with six assists to go with five points, and sophomore forward Eric Whitman added three rebounds.
The Blue Jays had four players scoring in double figures as well with Chad Piersol scoring a team high 16 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. Senior forward Brian Schreiber and Brad Schreiber each has 12 points for Elizabethtown with Brad grabbing six rebounds and Brian adding five rebounds and three steals. Michael Schatzmann contributed ten points and four rebounds while guard Brian Goodwin had nine points and four assists for the Blue Jays.
Newspaper Box Score Elizabethtown College vs Moravian College 02/18/06 4:25 PM at Johnston Hall, Bethlehem, PA At Johnston Hall, Bethlehem, PA MORAVIAN COLLEGE 74, ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE 70 ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE (15-9, 7-7 Comm.) Chad Piersol 6-9 1-2 16; Brad Schreiber 2-4 8-8 12; Brian Schreiber 5-9 1-2 12; Michael Schatzmann 3-8 3-4 10; Brian Goodwin 2-5 4-6 9; Greg Adams 2-6 0-0 4; Greg Brizek 1-3 1-2 3; Justin Shade 1-1 0-0 2; Luke Ledyard 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 23-47 18-26 70. MORAVIAN COLLEGE (9-16, 4-10 Comm.) Zach Zsilavecz 6-9 5-5 18; Michael Clemente 4-5 2-3 13; Ed Reid 4-7 2-4 12; Justin Chestnut 4-5 1-2 10; Mark Franzyshen 2-4 6-7 10; Ryan Miller 2-4 1-2 5; Eric Whitman 1-2 0-0 2; Greg Jones 1-1 0-0 2; Matt Devlin 1-3 0-0 2; Chris Earley 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 25-41 17-24 74. Elizabethtown College......... 30 40 - 70 Moravian College.............. 29 45 - 74 3-point goals-Elizabethtown College 6-16 (Chad Piersol 3-4; Michael Schatzmann 1-3; Brian Schreiber 1-5; Brian Goodwin 1-2; Greg Brizek 0-1; Greg Adams 0-1), Moravian College 7-11 (Michael Clemente 3-3; Ed Reid 2-2; Justin Chestnut 1-1; Zach Zsilavecz 1-3; Matt Devlin 0-1; Ryan Miller 0-1). Fouled out--Elizabethtown College-None, Moravian College-None. Rebounds-Elizabethtown College 27 (Brad Schreiber 6), Moravian College 22 (Mark Franzyshen 5). Assists-Elizabethtown College 14 (Brian Goodwin 4), Moravian College 16 (Ryan Miller 6). Total fouls-Elizabethtown College 21, Moravian College 23. A-497