BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Haverford College's men's basketball team pushed five players into double-figures in scoring but were dealt a heartbreaking, 69-68, loss by host Moravian College in non-conference action Monday night at Johnston Hall.
The Fords (7-13) rallied from a nine-point deficit midway through the first half, eventually taking an eight-point cushion over the Greyhounds (11-11) into the halftime locker rooms.
Moravian led by nine, 25-16, at the 10:52 mark of the opening stanza but Haverford clawed its way back into contention, pulling within three, 30-27, with 4:37 remaining.
The Fords then stormed to the lead with a half-ending 11-0 run that began with a Brett Cohen layup and ended with a Cohen jumper. In between came layups from Lucas Colombo and Matt Sherman sandwiched around a three-pointer from Louis Cipriano.
The momentum from the late flurry flipped benches at the beginning of the second half with the Greyhounds reeling off the period's first 12 points to wrest the lead back.
Haverford responded with an 8-0 spurt of its own to provide another momentum swing to the battle and give the visitors the lead, 46-42, five minutes in.
The teams battled back and forth over the next four minutes and, fittingly, found the score tied at 52-52 at the 11:29 mark.
Haverford broke the tie with a pair of free throws and maintained a lead for nearly seven more minutes. Moravian, though, finally pulled ahead for the game's last lead change with 4:57 remaining. Haverford pulled within a point three times over the final three minutes before falling one point shy of pulling out the victory.
Cohen and Anthony Reyes led the Haverford offense with 13 points apiece and were joined in the double-figures club by Cipriano (12 points), Colombo (11) and Sherman (10). Cohen completed the double-double by also pulling down 12 rebounds.
For the night the Fords shot 60 percent from the floor but Moravian was just a bit better at 63 percent including a game-high 15 points from Cameron Cullen.
Leaping back into Centennial Conference action with their next outing, Haverford continues on the road Wednesday night at Washington College followed by a Saturday contest at Gettysburg College, another league opponent.