The victory lifts Moravian’s record to 6-13 overall and 1-7 in Commonwealth Conference action while Juniata falls to 9-10 overall and 4-4 in conference action.
The Eagles opened a quick 6-3 lead in the first minute and a half of the game, but a 7-0 run by the Greyhounds gave Moravian a 10-6 lead with just under 16 minutes to play in the first half. Juniata rallied to take a 13-12 lead before the Greyhounds tied the game at 17-17 with 10:20 to play in the first half. The Eagles would eventually build an eight-point lead at 32-24 with 5:20 before the intermission; however, a 14-9 run by Moravian to close the half pulled the Greyhounds within 41-38 at the break.
oravian was just 11 of 29 (37.9 percent) from the floor in the first half with a three-pointer, but a 15 of 21 performance (71.4 percent) at the foul line kept the Greyhounds in the game. Moravian also had a 22-20 edge in rebounds at halftime but had committed 14 turnovers. Juniata made 14 of 33 field half field goal attempts (42.4 percent) including five three-pointers, and the Eagles were eight of ten at the foul line.
When the second half started, the Greyhounds quickly came out and took a 44-43 lead with 17:09 left to play. Over the next 13 and a half minutes, the lead went back and forth with ten lead changes and four ties. During the stretch, the biggest lead was five points. After Juniata tied the game at 70-70 with 3:27 left on a three-pointer by Tommy McConnell, Moravian scored the next seven points to take control of the game. The Greyhounds' final eight points came from the foul line.
Moravian made just 12 of 32 field goal attempts (37.5 percent) in the second half but connected on three three-pointers. The Greyhounds were also just 16 of 25 (64 percent) from the foul line after the intermission. Moravian finished the game with a 48-39 advantage in rebounds, and the Greyhounds made just 17 turnovers while forcing Juniata into 19 turnovers. In the second half, the Eagles connected on 10 of 29 field goal attempts (34.5 percent) with three three-pointers, and Juniata was eight of 11 from the foul line (72.7 percent).
Moravian had four players in doubles figures and a balanced scoring attack with senior forward Zach Zsilavecz tossing in a team high 19 points to go with three rebounds. Senior forward Ed Reid added 13 points while sophomore forward Mark Franzyshen had 12 points and two blocked shots. Sophomore forward Chris Earley added ten points off the bench, and Early, Reid and Franzyshen each grabbed a team high seven rebounds for the Greyhounds.
Sophomore guard Justin Chestnut contributed eight points, six assists and four rebounds while junior forward Matt Devlin had eight points and four boards. Sophomore guard Ryan Miller tossed in seven points while junior guard Michael Clemente had four points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds in the Moravian victory.
For Juniata, McConnell scored a game high 20 points to go with four steals while forward Travis Boyd had 17 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Forward Brian Cannon was also in double figures for the Eagles, scoring 16 points and adding six rebounds.
Newspaper Box Score Juniata College vs Moravian College 01/28/06 4:00 PM at Johnston Hall, Bethlehem, PA At Johnston Hall, Bethlehem, PA MORAVIAN COLLEGE 81, JUNIATA COLLEGE 72 JUNIATA COLLEGE (9-10, 4-4 Common) Tommy McConnell 7-17 4-5 20; Travis Boyd 6-10 0-0 17; Brian Cannon 6-11 4-5 16; Nick Hager 1-5 3-4 6; Brent Ferko 3-9 0-0 6; Kyle Opitz 0-3 3-5 3; Steve Holencik 1-1 0-0 2; Aaron Chamberlain 0-2 2-2 2; Justin Price 0-2 0-0 0; Chris Jasiota 0-1 0-0 0; Jeff Byer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 16-21 72. MORAVIAN COLLEGE (6-13, 1-7 Common) Zach Zsilavecz 5-11 6-9 19; Ed Reid 5-12 2-4 13; Mark Franzyshen 3-6 6-8 12; Chris Earley 4-9 2-2 10; Matt Devlin 2-3 4-8 8; Justin Chestnut 1-4 6-7 8; Ryan Miller 2-9 3-4 7; Michael Clemente 1-5 2-4 4; Eric Whitman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-61 31-46 81. Juniata College............... 41 31 - 72 Moravian College.............. 38 43 - 81 3-point goals-Juniata College 8-20 (Travis Boyd 5-6; Tommy McConnell 2-6; Nick Hager 1-3; Kyle Opitz 0-1; Aaron Chamberlain 0-2; Justin Price 0-1; Brian Cannon 0-1), Moravian College 4-18 (Zach Zsilavecz 3-5; Ed Reid 1-3; Chris Earley 0-1; Justin Chestnut 0-1; Ryan Miller 0-4; Michael Clemente 0-3; Eric Whitman 0-1). Fouled out--Juniata College-Aaron Chamberlain, Moravian College-None. Rebounds-Juniata College 39 (Travis Boyd 13), Moravian College 48 (Mark Franzyshen 7; Ed Reid 7; Chris Earley 7). Assists-Juniata College 14 (Nick Hager 3; Aaron Chamberlain 3), Moravian College 15 (Justin Chestnut 6). Total fouls-Juniata College 33, Moravian College 24. A-226