Rockville Centre, N.Y. - It would ultimately come down to the final possession, but the men's basketball team was able to outlast the Saints of D'Youville University, 80-79, this afternoon from Bob Houlihan Court. Molloy improved to 5-10 on the season and picked up its first East Coast Conference win of the season while the Saints sit at 2-13 (0-6 ECC) in the loss. 

How it Happened

• Trailing 8-7 five minutes into the contest, the home team responded with a 13-point run to lead 20-8. Sophomore Rob Matos hit two three pointers while sophomore Bryce Merchant added five points and redshirt junior Seydina Mohamed Dieng had two.
• D'Youville would cut the deficit to five, 20-15, midway through the first half, but the Lions responded with another rally, this time netting seven-straight points. 
• Molloy remained ahead by double digits through the end of the first half and took a 43-30 lead into the locker room.
• The Lions' lead would get to as much as 19, 54-35 with 15:33 left to play.
• The Saints, however, would begin mounting a comeback. A 19-6 run would cut the lead to just six, 60-54, with 10:29 on the clock. 
• D'Youville remained right on the Lion's tail and was able to come within three, 74-71, headed into the final four minutes of play.
• Foul shots from freshman Joshua Malcolm regained Molloy's lead to five points, but the Saints netted the next eight-straight points to pull ahead with 61 seconds remaining. 
• Matos was send to the line twice in the final minute of play and the guard sunk all four shots to seal the one-point victory for the Lions. 

Top Performances

• Matos led all players with 26 points and five assists while adding two steals and four rebounds. 
• Merchant netted 21 points and led Molloy with seven rebounds and three blocks. 
• Dieng had seven points to go with six rebounds. 
• Sophomore Manu Alford had a season-high seven points.
• Freshman Sebastian Bosquez also nabbed two steals while pulling down five boards.

Up Next
Molloy will be on the road on Wednesday (Jan. 15) against St. Thomas Aquinas College. Tip-off from Sparkill is slated for 7:00 p.m.