Box Score FLUSHING, N.Y. (Jan. 28, 2014) - Looking for its ninth-straight win, the Molloy College men's basketball team was denied No. 9 as it wasn't able to capitalize on a subpar Queens College squad, as the Lions fell at Fitzgerald Gymnasium, 51-47. With the win, the Knights improved to 4-13 overall and 4-6 in the conference, while the Lions slipped to 10-8 on the season and 7-3 in ECC play.
Molloy was only able to muster 17 first half points, while Queens had 20. Both teams shot poorly from the field, as the Lions had a .269 shooting percentage, while the Knights recorded a .375 clip. In the entire game, no team led by more than six points, with the lead changed hands on seven occasions.
The Lions saw their shooting percentage from field goal range increase in the second half (38.1%), but it still wasn't at the rate Molloy had been shooting on during its eight-game winning streak. In the second stanza, Queens outscored Molloy by one point (31-30), as the Knights, who entered the game in the bottom tier of the ECC standings, was able to hang with their guests.
With 17 seconds left in regulation and his team behind by four points, Molloy senior forward
John Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y.) rolled in a lay-up to cut Queens' lead to 49-47. The Knights squeaked out two of its four foul shots to increase its advantage to 51-47, which was the final score.
For Molloy, Petrucelli scored a game-high 20 points, while sophomore guard
Brandon Williams (Baldwin, N.Y.) had a solid game off the bench, scoring 15, to go along with four rebounds, one assist and two steals. Senior center
Tyler Hammett (Clifton Park, N.Y.) scored six points and grabbed a team-best nine boards.
For the Knights, Patrick Parker netted 15 points, while Luke Mercurio had 13 points. Patrick Modzelewski had a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds).
UP NEXT: Head Coach
Charles Marquardt and the Lions return to action on Thursday, January 30 when they host East Coast Conference-foe the University of Bridgeport. The opening tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. LiveStats and an audio/video broadcast will be available at www.MolloyLions.com.
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