Box Score SPARKILL, N.Y. (Nov. 16, 2014) - Off of a
Jaylen Morris (Amherst, N.Y.) bucket with 1.8 seconds remaining, Molloy College defeated Saint Michael's College, 79-77. The Lions are now 2-0 on the year with two victories in the St. Thomas Aquinas Classic. Following the loss, the Purple Knights fall to 1-1 on the season. This triumph marks the first time Molloy has defeated Saint Michael's in six all-time meetings.
Like their previous win, points off of the opposition's mistakes contributed to the victory. The Lions scored 23 points off of 18 Purple Knights turnovers. The Lions were outrebounded 46-27, and outscored in the paint 30-14, yet they converted on each of their 11 free throws. The Lions shot 44.3% from the field, and 46.7% from three-point range. The Purple Knights converted on 45.9% of their shots and 57.1% of them from long range.
Four different Lions scored in double figures. Junior
Brandon Williams (Baldwin, N.Y.) and sophomore
Charlie Marquardt (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) each had 19 points. Marquardt also converted on four shots from beyond the arc. Morris grabbed a team-high eight boards to add to his 15 points. Senior guard
Matt McLeod (Greenlawn, N.Y.) contributed with 13 points.
For the Purple Knights, James Cambronne scored 19 points and connected on four of five from deep. Matt Bonds corralled a game-high 16 rebounds.
From the start, Molloy was able to jump out to an early 8-0 lead. The Lions would continue to extend that lead: to 20-10 on a trey from Williams less than six minutes into the game.
Three shots from deep, two of them from McLeod, put the Lions on a 9-2 run, and their largest lead at 12 points (32-20) with a little more than six minutes to go in the half. The Purple Knights would cut that deficit to just five points at halftime as the Lions had a 41-36 advantage.
Molloy scored another two and held that advantage before a 7-0 run by Saint Michael's tied the score for the first time since the opening-tip (47-47). Down by two, a three-point field goal at 14:19 by Corey Crawford II gave the Purple Knights' their very first lead. Their largest came with just under seven minutes left (67-59).
With less than three minutes remaining in regulation, a Mike Thompson layup kept the Purple Knights ahead, 77-73. Williams' layup helped the Lions bring it to within two points, before a pair of Morris free throws with 59 seconds remaining tied the score at 77-77.
Morris, coming out of his team's timeout, buried a jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining. Saint Michael's had one more chance, attempting a baseball pass that would be deflected by McLeod to seal the victory for Molloy.
Head Coach
Charles Marquardt and his squad will have a few days to rest before they visit Caldwell University on Wednesday, Nov. 19. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. The Cougars currently sit at 1-1 on the season. Senior guard Kevin Walker currently leads his squad averaging 18.0 points per game and shooting 50.0% from the field.
