Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. – Lebanon Valley put together a furious rally in the closing minutes, but Moravian held on for an 85-81 win in Commonwealth Conference men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon in Lynch Gymnasium.

Sophomore guard J.D. Byers (Westminster, Md./Westminster) scored a game and career-high 26 points for Lebanon Valley (3-3, 1-1 Commonwealth) while senior forward Ken Greb and sophomore forward Brandon Zaleski posted a team-high 22 points apiece for Moravian (4-1, 2-0 CC).

Moravian led by eight (80-72) with 1:26 left before LVC went on a 9-3 run, capped with a Byers three-pointer with 20 seconds to go. But Greb canned a pair of free throws with 14 ticks remaining and both of the Flying Dutchmen’s shots in the final five seconds were off the mark.

Junior guard Jay Leader (Halifax, Pa./Halifax) enjoyed an outstanding game for the Valley. Leader posted career-highs of 13 points, nine assists and nine free throws while shooting 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.  Senior forward John Sharkey (Reading, Pa./Reading Central Catholic) also hit double figures in scoring with 11 points for the Dutchmen.

Lebanon Valley scored the first four points of the game before Moravian answered with a 10-0 run. The Greyhounds would never trail the rest of the way and led by as much as 20 (51-31) with 1:02 left in the first half.

Moravian shot a robust 70.8 percent in the opening half, including 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from three-point territory.

The ’Hounds led by 19 one minute into the second period before LVC began to chip away. The Dutchmen cut the deficit to single digits after Byers knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 62-54 with 10:44 left. Moravian pushed its lead to 13 (70-57) with 6:12 remaining and held a 75-64 edge with 3:32 to go but the Valley refused to go away.

Byers connected with a three-pointer and Leader hit three straight free throws after getting fouled on three-point attempt as LVC cut it to 75-70 with 2:26 left. Greb converted a conventional three-point play with 1:38 to go before the Dutchmen’s final run.

The Greyhounds finished the game shooting 54.3 percent from the field, 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from three-point land and 84.4 percent (27-of-32) from the foul line. LVC shot 47.2 percent from the floor, 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from beyond the arc and 71.0 percent from the line.

Senior center Darren Pugh (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) posted nine points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Valley, which out-rebounded Moravian 35-19. Junior guard Steve Weiler added 16 points for the Greyhounds.

The Dutchmen will travel to Alvernia College next Saturday in the team's final game of the month. The non-conference game is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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