Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Dec. 14, 2013) - On Saturday afternoon, the Molloy College men's basketball squad fell to Dowling College in an East Coast Conference nailbiter at Quealy Gymnasium, 74-73. Senior forward
John Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y.) poured in 24 points and brought down 11 rebounds, while rookie forward
Charlie Marquardt (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) added 11 points. Junior forward
Matt McLeod (Greenlawn, N.Y.) had 10 points. With the win, the Golden Lions improved to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in the ECC. Following the defeat, the Lions slipped to 2-7 on the season (1-2 in league play).
The first four seconds of the opening half would serve as a window into the whole game as the Lions and Golden Lions gave the boisterous crowd a real treat on Saturday night. Right off the opening tipoff, junior forward
Miles Prendergast (Bayport, N.Y.) grabbed the loose ball and fired it to Petrucelli, who slammed down a fastbreak dunk. With 6:20 remaining in the first period, Molloy held its largest advantage of the game (31-22). The two squads entered halftime with the hosts leading, 35-32.
A total of seven scoring ties peppered the second half as both teams kept the action close. Marquardt hit a couple of clutch three-pointers after the nine-minute mark to keep his team in the game. On two occasions his three-ball either cut Molloy's deficit in half or gave the Lions a slim lead.
With 44 seconds left in the game, McLeod hit a pair of foul shots to give Molloy a 71-68 lead. A lay-up and two free throws from Dowling's Justin Alexander put the guests up by one. With 13 seconds left, McLeod came up huge as he drained a jumper in front of his squad's bench to give Molloy the lead (73-72). Ten seconds later, however, Darien Davis, who was a pest for the Lions all game long, drove in a lay-up for the game's final score, 74-73 in favor of Dowling. A last-second effort by Molloy wasn't successful as Dowling held on for the victory.
For Molloy, Petrucelli finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and two assists, while Marquardt and McLeod combined for 21 points. McLeod had three blocks and a trio of steals.
For Dowling, Davis poured in a game-high 33 points, while Corwin Austin had 16. Alexander added 14 points and recorded 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT: Head Coach
Charlie Marquardt and the Lions return to action next Friday, December 20 when they host East Coast Conference-opponent Daemen College. All the action is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. at Quealy Gymnasium.
TUNE IN: If you can't attend the game, the Lions Sports Network will carry all the action on www.MolloyLions.com. Tune in at 7:15 p.m. for the pre-game show. In addition to the audio and video broadcast, LiveStats will be available.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter: @MolloyLions | Facebook: Molloy College Athletics | YouTube: Molloy Lions
