Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Feb. 26, 2016) - A 50-point second half rally by the Molloy College men's basketball team fell agonizingly short at the final buzzer, as a 76-74 loss to Daemen College on Friday (Feb. 26) at Quealy Gymnasium mathematically eliminated the Lions from playoff contention. Daemen, at 18-8 overall and 14-5 in ECC play, officially clinched the No. 2 seed in next week's tournament and will have a first-round bye into the semifinals. Molloy falls to 9-18 and 7-12 in conference competition.
After falling behind by a 37-24 margin in the first half, the Lions opened the second half with a flurry of offensive buckets. Senior forward
Kevin Bowles (Wantagh, N.Y.) started the frame off with a jumper in the first few seconds of play; freshman guard
Curtis Jenkins (Farmingdale, N.Y.) nailed a three-pointer and junior
Jaylen Morris (Amherst, N.Y.) hit a runner that brought the maroon and white within eight points as just under 90 seconds had elapsed in the half. The Wildcats rebuilt the lead up to 14 points with 13:41 to go as Ryan Grandits (Kenmore, N.Y.) scooped in a bucket to give Daemen a 54-37 lead. The action heated up though with eight minutes to play in regulation. After junior
Charlie Marquardt (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) rained in a three-ball to cut the visitors' lead to eight points at 60-52, the maroon and white created steals and transition baskets on the following three possessions in slimming the deficit to two points at 60-58 a minute later. A raucous Quealy Gymnasium crowd was quieted as Grandits converted a three-point play with six-and-a-half minutes remaining, and later junior forward Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y.) would hit a lay-up with under four to go in giving the Wildcats a 68-62 edge. From there, the Lions played frenetic basketball in an attempt to save their season. Free throws on both sides led to a 76-71 score favoring the Wildcats, but a three-pointer by Bowles brought the Lions within two as 10 seconds remained on the game clock. Molloy gambled on fouling red-shirt freshman guard Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y.) with 3.6 seconds to play, and the bet paid off as Hamilton missed both of his foul shots. The maroon and white, however, could not corral the rebound cleanly which led to a desperation heave from Marquardt at the buzzer that hit high off the background and caromed violently to the floor of the gymnasium.
Morris led the Lions with a 20-point night, while Marquardt added 17 as he inches ever closer to 1,000 career points (996 total) heading into Saturday's season finale. Morris also pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds while senior guards
Brandon Williams (Baldwin, N.Y.) and
Maurice Gatson (New York, N.Y.) scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Mehmetaj has a game-high 26 for Daemen, with Grandits adding 15 off the bench. Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y.) had 17 points in the win, as the freshman guard hit 5-of-9 from three-point range.
Molloy will host Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday (Feb. 27) at 2:30 p.m. in a Senior Day home finale, honoring Williams, Gatson, Bowles and
Chucks Obunse (St. Albans, N.Y.).
