Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. (Nov. 27, 2016) - For the second consecutive game, Molloy's men's basketball team rallied from behind, not taking their first lead of the game until under 16 minutes remaining. Today, however, late three-point shots from
Jaylen Morris (Amherst, N.Y.) and
Curtis Jenkins (Farmingdale, N.Y.) clinched the 86-83 win over Florida Southern College.
The Mocs opened the contest on a 13-4 run, with Molloy's only points coming from senior
Charlie Marquardt (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.). A three-pointer from
Mike Guzzardi (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) cut the lead to 13-7, but points from Florida Southern's Tyler Ross (St. John, Ind.) and Jarel Spellman (Richmond, Va.) quickly extended the Mocs' lead into double-digits. The Lions followed up with a 9-6 run, with Marquardt and Guzzardi posting the only points for Molloy. Two field goals and a foul shot from Jenkins and
Mike Torre (Massapequa, N.Y.) brought the maroon and white within four points with 9:35 remaining in the opening half. The Lions continued firing shots, but were unable to overcome the defecit, trailing 47-43 at halftime.
A pair of foul shots from Spellman increased the Mocs' lead to six points in the opening seconds of the second half, but baskets from Jenkins and Marquardt were able to bring the Lions within two points. Spellman, Marquardt, Morris and Michael Volovic (Carmel, Ind.) all exchanged points as the maroon and white tried to establish an advantage. Finally, with 15:55 left in the game, a layup from Jenkins provided Molloy with their first lead of the game. The following three minutes saw each team vying for position, as the score see-sawed back and forth. The Lions broke out to a six-point lead following a three-pointer from Torre and field goals from Morris. The Mocs continued applying pressure, and battled back to tie the game twice within the next 90 seconds. The maroon and white continued to try to establish a lead, as Morris sunk a three-pointer to put the Lions up by five. Ross quickly answered back for the Mocs by putting a three of his own into the basket. Three successful foul shots from Florida Southern put the Mocs up 81-80 with 1:28 seconds remaining. Morris nailed another shot from beyond the arc to send the lead back Molloy's way, but Volovic sunk a jumper for the Mocs to tie the game for the seventh time, this time with only 39 seconds left. Neither team was able to get a shot off for the next 33 seconds, until Jenkins sealed the 86-83 win when he sent the ball through the net with six seconds on the clock.
Molloy was led by Morris and Marquardt, who posted 28 and 27 points, respectively. Morris, who shot 66% from the field, also pulled down 10 boards for the double-double.Guzzardi and Jenkins scored 14 and 13, respectively as well for the maroon and white. As a team, the Lions scored 28 of their points in the paint and shot an impressive 90% from the charity stripe. For Florida Southern, Volovic led the way with 22 points, while Rauch's 17 points and 11 rebound were good for a double-double. Ross and Jeremiah Davis (Muncie, Ind.) each scored 15 points for the Mocs as well.
The Lions face local rival Adelphi in their next contest, heading to Garden City on Thursday (Dec. 1). Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
