Rockville Centre, N.Y. – The third-seeded Molloy men's basketball team defeated the sixth-seeded UDC Firebirds, 76-69, in the first round of the East Coast Championship Wednesday evening inside Quealy Gymnasium. Senior Steven Torre netted his 1000th career point in the triumph. With the win, the Lions advance to the conference semifinal, where they will take on the second-seeded Daemen Wildcats.
 
How It Happened

• From the opening tip, the teams traded baskets, but a three from Torre gave Molloy a three-point advantage, 11-8, six minutes into the contest.
• Back-to-back three-point baskets from Torre and freshman Kenny Lazo extended the Lions lead to seven, 19-12, with over 11 minutes left in the opening stanza. 
• Over the next five minutes of game time, UDC chipped away at the deficit, knotting the game at 24 with 6:17 remaining in the first half.
• Coming out of the under eight-minute media timeout, Molloy put together an 11-2 run, highlighted by freshman Darren Fergus who tallied six points. The Lions led, 35-26, with over three minutes to go.
• The Firebirds answered with a 6-0 rally to trim the deficit to three, 35-32, with 1:08 remaining.
• The maroon and white went into the locker room with a 38-34 lead.
• Torre kicked off the second half scoring five of Molloy's first seven points, giving Molloy a seven-point cushion, 45-38, with over 16 minutes to go.
• UDC responded, cutting the Lions lead to one, 49-48, following a three-point field goal from Tevin Curtis with 12:52 remaining in the second half.
• Over the next four minutes of action, UDC tied the game at 56 with over eight minutes to play.
• Both teams went back and forth tying the game over the next four minutes. The road team took a six-point lead, 66-60, with 4:48 remaining in the contest.
• Following a timeout called by head coach Charles Marquardt, the Lions took a one-point lead, 69-68, off a pair of threes from Torre and one from freshman Billy Reyes with 2:52 left on the scoreboard.
• Following a free-throw from UDC forward Kenyon Stone, the game was tied yet again at 69 with 2:30 to go.
• Molloy ended the game on a 7-0 rally, with Fergus sealing the game en route to the 76-69 victory.

 
Top Performances 

• Torre led all scorers with 26 points, shooting 66 percent from the field, 55 percent from three, and grabbing seven rebounds.
• Fergus netted 16 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds, and a game-high three steals.
• Junior William Muller tallied 13 points and blocked a game-high four shots.
• Lazo added nine points, while securing four rebounds, and dishing out a pair of assists.

 
Up Next
The third-seeded Lions will face the second-seeded Daemen College Wildcats on Saturday (March 5) at 3:30 p.m. on the campus of Saint Thomas Aquinas College.