ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Feb. 17, 2016) – The Molloy College men's basketball team has suffered through a season of close losses, bad bounces and tough nights on the 2015-16 campaign. With the team's conference record now standing at 5-11, the Lions must do whatever they can to win out the next four games to stand any chance of making the East Coast Conference Tournament. That road starts with a treacherous and arduous path on Thursday night (Feb. 18) against Bridgeport at Quealy Gymnasium.
The Lowdown on the Lions
Down 21-3 after six minutes of play on Tuesday night against Queens College, the maroon and white fought back hard but still fell on a controversial (albeit correct) travelling violation that gave the Knights an 84-81 road win in Rockville Centre. Junior guard Charlie Marquardt (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) scored a team-high 24 points and hit 6-of-11 three point attempts, but his twelfth try was negated by the referee's ruling of too many steps. What hurts more is that the shot went in and would have given Molloy a one-point lead with five seconds remaining in the game. Senior forward Kevin Bowles (Wantagh, N.Y.) added 10 points while point guard Brandon Williams (Baldwin, N.Y.) chipped in 22 in the effort for the Lions. Molloy was also hampered by an emphatic first half of shooting by the visitors (70.8% from the field, 70% from three-point range).
How Critical Is A Loss?
Molloy's postseason chances are currently in a bad way. With the loss to Queens, the Knights gained an all-important season series sweep which could play out to be a major tiebreaker at the end of the season. The Lions have the season sweep over sixth-seeded Mercy College, but the Mavericks have a current record of 8-8. The good news for the maroon and white is that Mercy's final four games are against UDC, Dowling and Bridgeport (twice). The Mavs could lose all four games and give Molloy an opportunity…but only if the Lions win at least three of four against Bridgeport (No. 4 in conference), Dowling (7-9 in ECC play), Daemen (No. 2 in conference) and Roberts Wesleyan (eliminated from postseason contention). The road to Washington, D.C. just got a lot harder for the maroon and white with the defeat Tuesday evening.
Marquardt Chasing History
Everyone is aware of Marquardt's run towards 1,000 points (which he is currently 56 away from at 944 career points scored). But the junior is also closing in on another mark---most three-pointers made in a career. Coming into the season with 127 career makes, Marquardt has bagged 79 three-balls to get him into second-place all-time in Molloy history with 206 total threes. The record stands at 222, which was set by 2004 graduate Paul Cordasco, and with Marquardt's run to close out the year there is a distinct possibility that the mark will fall before March.
Morris Is, Too
Junior guard Jaylen Morris (Amherst, N.Y.) did not score a point versus Queens College on Tuesday night, leaving him with a total of 966 points scored for his career. He has been proverbially limping towards the 1,000-point mark as teams have played tighter defense on him, but with four games remaining the mark is not out of the question for Morris to attain.
Bridgeport Not As Formidable?
Bridgeport (12-11, 9-6 ECC) has had a difficult time with winning this season as is indicated by the fact that the team's overall record is so close to .500 this late in the year. That said, the Purple Knights are still a dangerous team come ECC Tournament time as the three-time defending conference champions. Getting there, however, could prove to be a struggle, especially after Tuesday night's 79-65 loss at Dowling. 25 turnovers did Mike Ruane's team in as Dowling utilized those miscues to score 27 points. Ernest Rouse (Freeport, N.Y.) and Stefano Osuji (Voorhees, N.J.) both scored 10 points for Bridgeport in the losing effort.
Second Half Stalwarts
The Purple Knights have been able to keep a winning record because of the team's play in the second half of contests. Bridgeport has started games slower, averaging 38.6 points per first half of action (888 points total). In the second half, Bridgeport has completed an average of 43.5 points per half of action (1001 points total). This allows the Purple Knights to close out games in a strong manner and also to take wins from teams that least expect it.
Prior Meeting
A 7-0 run in the span of about 90 seconds late in the second half allowed Bridgeport to fend off a hard-charging Molloy club and grab a 76-72 win at Hubbell Gymnasium when the two teams met on Jan. 14. Freshman guard Curtis Jenkins (Farmingdale, N.Y.) had 23 points for Molloy in the loss, while senior forward Muhammed Ahmed (Bronx, N.Y.) had a team-high 19 for Bridgeport. Senior guard Jesse Jones (Irvington, N.J.) hit a critical three-pointer in the late run to allow the Purple Knights to prevail.
