OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Jan. 4, 2017) – Molloy College's men's basketball team returned to East Coast Conference play on Wednesday (Jan. 4) as they opened the 2017 portion of the season against New York Institute of Technology. Unfortunately, the Lions dropped a close 76-73 contest, falling to an even 7-7 (3-2 ECC) with the loss.
The Bears opened to an early 11-4 lead, but field goals from
Nick Corbett (Staten Island, N.Y.),
Jaylen Morris (Amherst, N.Y.) and
Curtis Jenkins (Farmingdale, N.Y.) worked the score to an 11-11 tie. Scoring see-sawed between the two teams and the score became tied four more times in the opening minutes of the first half. With 9:39 on the clock, Jenkins put up a layup to push Molloy ahead 22-20. Walter King (Peekskill, N.Y.) and Henrik Davidsen (Oslo, Norway) combined for seven consecutive points to give NYIT the five point advantage. Morris, Jenkins, and
Mike Torre (Massapequa, N.Y.) combined for baskets to tie the game 28-28 with six minutes left in the half. The score would become tied twice more in the opening frame, but the Bears headed into the half with a 37-34 lead.
King opened the second half with a good jumper to extend the Bears' lead to five points. Molloy continued pressuring, never letting NYIT out of striking distance. With 13:03 remaining, a jumper from
Mike Guzzardi (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) brought Molloy within two points, sending the score to 50-48. A three-pointer from
Charlie Marquardt (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) pushed the Lions ahead by one, their first lead of the second half. The lead would not last long, however, as the Bears quickly responded with a 13-2 run to go up by as much as ten points. The Lions once again cut away, and back-to-back slam dunks from Jenkins and Morris brought Molloy back within one point with 2:37 left to play. Three points from King and a foul shot from Zach Moore (North Babylon, N.Y.) put the Bears ahead 74-69 with one minute on the game clock. Marquardt and Torre combined for three points in the final 30 seconds to once again bring the maroon and white within one, but two late foul shots from King handed the home team the 76-73 win.
The Lions were led by 19 points from Morris, who went 8-of-14 from the field. The senior added two assists, nine boards, and two steals on the evening. Jenkins and Marquardt rounded out the top scorers for Molloy, posting 18 and 15 points, respectively.
Molloy returns to Quealy Gymnasium on Saturday (Jan. 7) as they welcome the University of Bridgeport. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
