Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Feb. 18, 2016) – Backed by an impressive effort from junior guard Jaylen Morris (Amherst, N.Y.), the Molloy College men's basketball team cruised to an 80-74 victory over the University of Bridgeport on Thursday night (Feb. 18) in Rockville Centre. The Lions' record now stands at 8-17 overall and 6-11 in East Coast Conference play.
Neither team could score within the first minute of the opening half in front of a packed but subdued Quealy Gymnasium crowd. Bridgeport (12-12, 9-7 ECC) was able to break the tie when senior forward Eddie Asamoah (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) hit a lay-up with 18:51 to play in the first half; the Purple Knights extended the lead to 5-0 on a three-ball by senior guard Ernest Rouse (Freeport, N.Y.) a minute later. The Lions scored six straight points to grab their first lead of the contest, with Morris sending home a dunk to put his side up 6-5, but Bridgeport's Antoine Brown (Brooklyn, N.Y.) hit a three-pointer to give UB the lead back at 8-6 with six minutes gone by in the stanza. The lead rotated back-and-forth for much of the first half, as a lay-up by Kevin Bowles (Wantagh, N.Y.) gave Molloy a 15-13 lead midway through the frame. Bridgeport was able to stay somewhat close throughout as Muhammed Ahmed (Bronx, N.Y.) would collect a lay-up with 4:48 to play in bringing the Purple Knights within three points at 27-24; the maroon and white outscored their opponents 10-6 over the final stretch of play, capped off by a last-second jumper from senior guard Maurice Gatson (New York, N.Y.) which sent the home side into the locker room with a 37-30 lead.
As the second half started, Morris dropped in a three-ball to give the Lions a ten-point lead; this would prove critical because Bridgeport never seemed to recover after a sluggish start to the final frame. The maroon and white would extend their lead to as much as 16 points, and Gatson helped fend off a brief UB run by going coast-to-coast for a lay-up with six minutes to go in giving his side a 68-55 lead. Bridgeport would never get closer than six points the rest of the way, as the advantage for the hosts proved to be too great to overcome.
Morris poured in a team-best 18 points on a 50% (7-14) field goal shooting performance, while junior guard Charlie Marquardt (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) added 17 points to the cause. The two players inched ever closer to the 1,000-point plateau as Morris stands at 984 and Marquardt at 961 with three games remaining in the regular season. Senior guard Brandon Williams (Baldwin, N.Y.) added 16 points and seven assists in the win, as Bowles had a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with eight points of his own. Gatson added six points off the bench while freshman Curtis Jenkins (Farmingdale, N.Y.) had a nine-point night and fellow first-year player Derrick Okunpolor (Lynbrook, N.Y.) poured in six points with five rebounds.
Leading Bridgeport were two players who scored a game-high 19 points in Rouse and Devon Elliott (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Senior forward Muhammed Ahmed (Bronx, N.Y.) added 14 points but the Purple Knights struggled in the field, hitting just 39.7% (27-68) of their field goals. In contrast, Molloy was 30-for-64 (46.9%) from the field and 16-of-22 (76.7%) from the free throw line. Bridgeport limped to a 10-for-18 (55.6%) performance from the foul stripe.
The Molloy College men's basketball team will next play its final road contest on Saturday (Feb. 20) in Oakdale, N.Y. against Dowling College at 2:30 p.m.
