Rockville Centre, N.Y. - The men's basketball team picked up its first win of the campaign this evening, topping the Georgian Court Lions, 92-75, from Bob Houlihan Court. Molloy improved to 1-3 on the season while GCU fell of 0-5.
How it Happened
- The cardinal and white came out of the gate firing, scoring 23 of the first 26 shots, five of which came from beyond the three-point arc.
- Molloy shot over 72 percent from long distance in the first half and made 18 total field goals, leading the Lions of GCU by double digits the majority of the first half of play. The home team carried a 46-29 advantage into the locker room at the half.
- Trailing by 18 with 12 minutes remaining, 62-44, the visitors put together a 14-4 run to come within eight, 66-58, with just under nine minutes to play.
- Three foul shots and a layup from sophomore Rob Matos and a three-pointer from sophomore Bryce Merchant regained Molloy's lead to double digits, 74-60.
- The home Lions maintained the advantage through the close of the contest, leading from the opening tip to the closing buzzer.
Top Performances
- On the evening, Molloy shot a season-high 54.1 percent from the field and over 53 percent from three-point distance.
- Junior Payton Shumpert set a career-high 25 points, leading all scorers, and just missed tying the single game three-point shot record, going 7-of-12 from long distance. The guard set a career-high seven rebounds and added two assists on the evening.
- Matos topped 20 points for the fourth-straight contest, netting 23 on a 7-of-16 showing, adding four three-pointers. The sophomore dished out eight assists and added two boards and a steal.
- Merchant also reached double digits with 18 points on the back of a 4-of-6 day from three-point range to go with seven rebounds and two assists.
- Graduate student Matt Lane rounded out the top scorers, netting his fourth career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds while also putting up three blocks.
- Freshman Joshua Malcolm set a career-high eight assists.
- Redshirt junior Seydina Mohamed Dieng led with two steals.
Up Next
Molloy will compete at the Harlem Renaissance Classic on Saturday (Nov. 23) afternoon. The Lions will take on the Lincoln University Lions of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association at 3:00 p.m. from the campus of Manhattan University in Riverdale, N.Y.
