Moravian University men’s basketball interim coach Michael Mayes would like to develop a deep rotation as the 2025-26 season progresses.
He’s glad he has upperclassmen to lean on in these early weeks.
Moravian’s four senior starters have carried a heavy load during a 2-0 start that featured two double-overtime games. The Greyhounds won their opener 96-93 against local rival Muhlenberg before establishing a single-game program record in points during Thursday’s 120-118 win at Immaculata.
Senior forward Marquis Ratcliff, a Pottsville Nativity BVM product, and senior guard Porter Kelly have done the heaviest lifting. Ratcliff scored what was then a career-best 35 points while playing 47 of 50 minutes against Muhlenberg. He followed that with a career-high 41 points in 40 minutes against Immaculata.
Kelly scored a career-high 32 points against Immaculata while playing 48 of 50 minutes. He also had eight rebounds, four assists and five steals.
Kelly played 42 minutes in the opener while posting a 14-point, five-rebound, three-assist night.
“I would love to get one done in the first 40 minutes,” Mayes said with a laugh Monday. “But however you get them, you take them.
“I think we’ve started the season off pretty well. The sky is still the limit for us. We still have a lot to improve on, and we’re going to show that we can get better.”
Mayes and Ratcliff both said the transition from former coach Darryl Keckler to Mayes has gone well. Keckler left Moravian in September to take an administrative job at Middle Tennessee State. Mayes served as an assistant coach under Keckler for all three seasons Keckler coached the Greyhounds.
With seniors Ratcliff, Kelly, Chad Kratzer (Allentown Central Catholic) and Liam Cummiskey returning after a 16-win season and Landmark Conference tournament berth last season, Mayes wants to continue playing a similar style to Keckler. That means forcing turnovers and pushing the pace.
It also means plenty of touches for Ratcliff. He needs three points to become the seventh player in program history to score 1,500 career points.
Ratcliff already has two double-doubles this season, giving him 29 for his career. He has started 73 of the 75 games he has played since coming to Moravian.
A top scorer and rebounder from Day 1 with the Greyhounds, Ratcliff has become a leader as an upperclassman.
“We really relied on our senior (Michael Leonardo) last year as juniors,” Ratcliff said. “He definitely led the way for us and taught me so many things about this team that I can only try and fulfill now.”
Ratcliff’s ultimate goal is postseason success. The Greyhounds have trended up each year he’s been at Moravian, going from eight wins to nine wins to 16 wins.
For now, Moravian is content with building game by game. The Greyhounds would, however, prefer to start finishing opponents off during regulation.
“Just coming out of two games in double OT, those are two games that I don’t know last year if we come out of those with the win,” Ratcliff said. “So, they’ve been great ways to start our season, great tests for us.
“These are the kinds of games we’re going to see in the postseason.”
Rivalries renewed: The next week will bring the renewal of several Lehigh Valley Division III rivalries.
The DeSales women (2-1 overall) will head to Muhlenberg (2-1) on Saturday and Moravian (1-1) on Monday. The Muhlenberg women captured local bragging rights last season by winning at DeSales and Moravian.
Northern Lehigh graduate Aubrey Pollard has started hot for DeSales. The sophomore forward is averaging 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting 68.2 percent (15 of 22) from the field.
The DeSales men (2-1) also visit Muhlenberg (2-2) on Saturday and Moravian (2-0) on Monday to cap women’s-men’s doubleheaders. DeSales swept its local matchups last season.
Tip-ins: Dieruff graduate Jayda Cartagena was named one of two captains for the Moravian women. The senior guard is averaging 3.5 points in 14 minutes per game for the Greyhounds (1-1). … The Kutztown men will be the last local team to open their season when they host Penn State Schuylkill on Wednesday. Long-time assistant and interim coach Tom York will guide the Golden Bears this season after the August retirement of Bernie Driscoll, the program’s all-time wins leader.
