Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Jan. 22, 2014) - On Wednesday night at Quealy Gymnasium, the rookie and the seasoned veteran propelled the Molloy College men's basketball team to an 88-85 victory over East Coast Conference-foe LIU Post as freshman forward
Charlie Marquardt (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) and senior forward
John Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y.) combined for 58 points. Marquardt's 22 was a career-high, while Petrucelli's 36 was three points off his career-high, set earlier this season. With the win, the Lions improved to 9-7 overall and 6-2 in the league. Following the defeat, the Pioneers fell to 11-6 on the season and 6-3 in the ECC.
The Lions certainly set themselves up nicely for the second half, as in the first period they shot 58.1% from the floor. No team led by more than four points until the 6:31 mark -- a testament to how closely-matched these two clubs were. With three minutes left and ahead, 36-30, the Lions aimed to put some distance between themselves and their guests. The next six points of the game came from Petrucelli who drove in back-to-back fastbreak lay-ups, and then followed those up with a pair of successful free throws. The Lions closed out the half in the lead, 44-37.
The closest the Pioneers got to tying the game in the second half was with 13:51 left. Isiah Stokley converted on both his free throws to cut Molloy's advantage to 58-57. The Lions quickly dismantled that notion by scoring seven unanswered points, five of which came from junior guard
Matt McLeod (Greenlawn, N.Y.). With under two minutes to go, LIU Post continued to flirt with a four-, five- and six-point deficit, trying to inch closer to evening up the score. With 26 seconds left, Vaughn Allen knocked in a lay-up to get LIU Post to within two. Molloy increased its lead following that with a trio of free throws, before LIU Post's P.J. Torres nailed a clutch three-ball with 12 seconds remaining. Petrucelli drained two more foul shots, but that didn't halt the Pioneers' last-ditch attempts. With six seconds left on the clock, the Pioneers' Jared Hall hit a three-pointer to change the score to 86-85 in favor of Molloy. A timeout and two Marquardt foul shots later, the Lions had its 87th and 88th points and sealed the conference victory.
For Molloy, Petrucelli, who entered into this game ranked fifth in the country in points per contest (24.8) and first in the nation in steals per game (4.1), scored a game-high 36 points, while grabbing eight boards. He also had three assists and one steal. Marquardt scored a career-high 22 points; he went 3-for-5 from downtown, and had five steals. Senior center
Tyler Hammett (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and sophomore forward
Chucks Obunse (St. Albans, N.Y.) had four points, six rebounds and two blocks apiece.
For LIU Post, Allen finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds, while Hall scored 16. Stokley, Torres and Dillon Burns all had 12 points each.
UP NEXT: Head Coach
Charles Marquardt and the Lions return to the hardwood on Saturday, Jan. 25 when they host ECC-foe NYIT at Quealy Gymnasium. The opening tipoff is slated for 2:30 p.m.
NYIT QUICK HIT: The Bears are currently 8-7 overall and 6-3 in the conference, a 1/2 game behind Molloy in the league standings.
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
