Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Nov. 29, 2014) - On Saturday, the Molloy College men's basketball team extended its winning streak to three games with a 70-62 victory over Nyack College. A career-high performance by sophomore guard
Jaylen Morris (Amherst, N.Y.) powered the Lions, who improved to 5-1 on the season. With the loss, the Warriors fell to 2-3.
In the home opener for Molloy, Morris drained 24 points, shooting 9-14 from the field. He was also a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe and collected six rebounds and blocked three shots. Senior guard
Matt McLeod (Greenlawn, N.Y.) shot 6-9 for the contest with a 15-point afternoon. Junior point guard
Brandon Williams (Baldwin, N.Y.) had a near double-double -- scoring 10 points and corralling eight rebounds.
The Warriors' Nick Moore led his squad with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Chris Hampton added 16 points.
As a team, Molloy shot 51.9% from the field, compared to Nyack's 39.3%. The Lions were just 3-14 from deep, but 13-17 from the foul line. The Warriors hit 6 of 20 three-pointers and only 47.1% of their free throws. The Lions up-ended the Warriors with a 42-35 scoring advantage in the paint. Turnovers were even at 8-8, but Molloy scored eight fast-break points. The Warriors had the advantage on the glass 37-32. Moreover, adding to the team's accolades this afternoon: Molloy never trailed in the game.
The Lions opened the game on a 6-0 run, capped by a fast-break layup from McLeod, just 1:11 into the contest. The Lions led by nine points (13-4), less than four minutes in. A 6-0 Warriors' run brought the score within four points (18-14), with 9:52 remaining in the half. Molloy led by as many as 14 points in the first (1:05 remaining), but finished the half holding a 34-21 advantage.
Molloy defended the three-ball well in the first half, allowing just one of the Warriors' 11 attempts to fall (9.1%). While shooting 55% from the field themselves in the first 20 minutes, the Lions were 0-5 from deep range.
After the intermission, a 7-2 Nyack run was capped by a Moore dunk at 14:36, bringing the game to four (43-39). It took almost three minutes for the next bucket to go in. With 11:37 left, Nyack's Will Robinson sank a layup to bring their deficit to just two points, 43-41.
A 6-2 Lions' run, culminating with a Morris bucket with 8:41 left, brought the lead back to six points for the home team (49-43). That lead would dwindle to just one point with less than five minutes remaining as Nyack continued to battle back.
With 1:44 left in the game, sophomore forward
Charlie Marquardt (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) hit a trey to put Molloy up by seven again, 63-56. Nyack brought it to as close as five points the rest of the way. Sending the Lions to the foul line helped the hosts as Molloy was able to clinch the game with a 70-62 win.
MORRIS ON THE MOVE: Morris' 24 points tonight set a new career-record for him...his previous career-best came on 2/1/14 against Dowling College when he scored 16.
ALUMNI IN THE HOUSE: Returning to Molloy after graduating last year,
Tyler Hammett made a return to Quealy Gymnasium this afternoon to watch his former teammates play...Hammett is currently playing professionally in Germany.
UP NEXT: Head Coach
Charles Marquardt and his squad returns to action on Thursday, December 4 at 7 p.m. The Lions will host East Coast Conference-foe Mercy College at Quealy Gymnasium.
SCOUTING MERCY: The Mavericks were just 3-23 last year and were picked to finish last in this year's ECC preseason poll. Currently on the 2014-15 campaign, Mercy is 3-0 with wins coming against Nyack, Georgian Court and Salem International. Junior guard/forward Tyseem Lyles (Brooklyn, N.Y.) is pacing the squad with 23.0 points per game, while junior forward/center Gerald McClease (New Haven, Conn.) ranks second (12.0 ppg). This marks the first season for new Head Men's Basketball Coach Dr. Jody King. King was previously the head coach at Hostos Community College.
