ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Jan. 13, 2016) – Staring into the teeth of a difficult stretch in conference season, the Molloy College men's basketball team cannot afford any more stumbles if the Lions want to mount a serious charge in making the East Coast Conference Tournament. Molloy will try and climb a very tall mountain Thursday night as the Lions look to knock off the three-time defending champion University of Bridgeport Purple Knights at Hubbell Gymnasium in a 7:30 p.m. contest.
The Lowdown on the Lions
All it took was an 11-0 run over a span of two minutes and 11 seconds to dig the maroon and white into a hole that could not be surmounted, as Queens College coasted to a 78-62 victory at Fitzgerald Hall in Flushing on Tuesday night. Senior guard Maurice Gatson (New York, N.Y.) scored a career-high 18 points to lead all scorers in hitting 7-of-9 from the field in the game. Molloy actually shot well from the field, hitting 51% (21-41) of its field goal attempts; but the Lions lost the contest on the heels of poor foul shooting (14-30, 47%) and an eye-popping rebounding margin of minus-18 (37-19) against the Knights. The maroon and white also committed 17 turnovers which were turned into 21 points by the hosts, who also dominated points in the paint (40-26).
The 'O' Trio
Looking for anything to provide a spark off the bench, Molloy has turned to senior Chucks Obunse (St. Albans, N.Y.) and freshman Chris O'Reilly (Colts Neck, N.J.) to get things going for the maroon and white outside of the starting five. This has led to moderate success for both players, with Obunse averaging 12 minutes per game as well as 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest. O'Reilly, on the other hand, tied his career-high with nine points against Queens College, and the freshman is currently holding an average under four points per game with 11 minutes played. There is a third member---hence "The 'O' Trio"---in freshman forward Derrick Okunpolor (Lynbrook, N.Y.) who is also chomping at the bit to get his chances for the Lions. While Obunse is in his final season with the maroon and white, prospects for O'Reilly and Okunpolor are looking good for next season and beyond.
Struggles From Deep Continue
Molloy is going to be a team to take the open shot, even if it means firing a deep-range trifecta attempt. A telling stat comes from how the Lions are performing in terms of shooting percentage: while Molloy is hitting shots at a 42% clip from the field, the team's three-point percentage is a full 11 points lower at 31%. Another eyebrow-raiser is the disparity of shots taken by the maroon and white to the number of shots taken by opponents. Molloy is 386-of-912 this season from the floor and 98-312 from three-point range. Opponents have taken almost 50 less field goal attempts, and yet are shooting 46% (400-867) against the Lions; from three-point range, the percentage is 42% (102-241). Molloy is taking a great deal of shots per game (as high as 84 versus UDC on Dec. 16), but the rate at which the Lions are making them is cancelled out by the lack of field goal defense that the maroon and white are showing their opponents.
Here Come The Champs
Bridgeport started the season off slowly, winning just one of its first five contests and sending shockwaves through the conference and region. Were the Purple Knights no longer the most feared entity in the ECC? Did the magic finally run out and would a new champion be crowned? Since a 102-86 triumph versus NYIT one month ago, Bridgeport has claimed wins in five of its last six contests with the most recent win a 121-91 blowout of Dowling on Tuesday (Jan. 12). The statement win was punctuated by 22 points from Devon Elliott (Brooklyn, N.Y.) as well as 18 points from both Muhammed Ahmed (Bronx, N.Y.) and Eric Rankin (Stratford, Conn.). Bridgeport collected shooting splits of 62% (46-74) from the field, 59% (20-34) from three-point range and 90% (9-10) from the free throw line in the victory.
Ruane's Patterns For Success
The 121-91 win over Dowling was a historic one for sixteenth-year head coach Mike Ruane: his 300th career win as head coach of Bridgeport. How has Ruane managed the success? The coach of the Purple Knights has done it by taking talented players who have had wayward pasts and difficult upbringings and inviting them into the family of basketball stars. East Coast Conference men's basketball insider Chris Granozio posted an article about this last year, entitled "Court of Second Chances," which you can view by clicking the link. In a similar fashion this year, Ruane and Bridgeport have welcomed in players from other schools including North Texas transfer Ahmed and New Haven transfer Rankin, who have become stars for UB this season.
All-Star Games
There is one element of the Purple Knights' game that basketball purists might find to be a bit concerning. Despite an 83.2 points per game average, Bridgeport allows 82.4 points per game to opponents this season. Early in the year, UB fell to Southern Connecticut in a high-scoring 104-96 affair which immediately preceded an 89-86 win over Bentley six nights later. Bridgeport is minus-3.3 in the rebounding category and their level of dominance offensively allows for gaps on defense to be exploited.
Conference Playoff Picture
Going into Thursday night's action, Bridgeport is tied with UDC at 5-1 in conference contests with the Purple Knights and the Firebirds trailing a 7-0 LIU Post squad for first place in the ECC. Saint Thomas Aquinas (5-2) holds the fourth place spot solo while Daemen and Queens are in a tie for fifth place at 3-3 in ECC action. Similar to the women's standings, Dowling and Molloy are both 2-4 in East Coast Conference play and rest on the outside looking in at this point in the season.
