Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Dec. 20, 2013) - On Friday night, the Molloy College men's basketball squad evened up its East Coast Conference-ledger at 2-2 with a 78-69 victory over Daemen College at Quealy Gymnasium in Rockville Centre, N.Y. Senior forward
John Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y.) powered the Lions with a 28-point, eight-rebound and seven-assist performance, while freshman forward
Charlie Marquardt (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points. The rookie nailed four three-pointers in seven attempts.
With the win, the Lions improved to 3-7 overall and 2-2 in the ECC. Meanwhile, following the defeat, the Wildcats dropped to 4-5 on the season and 1-3 in conference action.
The Lions and Wildcats played close for the first portion of the opening stanza before Molloy started to pull away. By the time halftime rolled around, the hosts had themselves a comfortable 40-28 lead.
Throughout the second half, there were a couple of occasions where Daemen pulled to within one or two points of tying the game. That moment became a reality with 3:16 remaining in regulation when Daemen's Gerald Beverly put in a lay-up to knot the score at 68-all. The Lions answered back immediately with seven straight points, capping off that burst with a Marquardt three-pointer. The Wildcats would end up scoring just one more point the rest of the way as Molloy went on to victory, 78-69.
For the Lions, Petrucelli continued his stellar senior campaign with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Prior to this contest, Petrucelli ranked 11th in the country in scoring (23.9 points per game) amongst NCAA Division II, as well as fourth in the nation for steals per game. Marquardt finished with 17 points, while junior guard
Matt McLeod (Greenlawn, N.Y.) had 11 and freshman guard
Jaylen Morris (Amherst, N.Y.) netted 10. Sophomore guard
Brandon Williams (Baldwin, N.Y.) dished out five assists.
For Daemen, Beverly scored 19 points and had 16 rebounds, while Uchechi Ogbonna recorded 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. Casey Sheehan netted 10 points. Beverly was a menace on the defensive end of the court, swatting away five shots.
UP NEXT: Head Coach
Charlie Marquardt and the Lions return to action on Sunday, December 22 when they host East Coast Conference-opponent Roberts Wesleyan College. All the action is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. from 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 2:15 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
