Rockville Centre, N.Y. – The Molloy men's basketball team had themselves a track meet against the Warriors of East Stroudsburg Tuesday evening, falling, 106-91, on Bob Houlihan Court. Following tonight's contest, the Lions move to 0-7 while the Warriors improve to 6-0.
How it Happened
- The Lions began the opening 4:34 shooting five-of-six from the floor with every member of the starting five getting on the scoresheet to take an 11-4 lead.
- Over the next 3:51 of action, East Stroudsburg shot 80 percent from the floor to shrink the deficit to one, 24-23, with 11:35 left in the first half.
- Molloy was able to keep a multi-possession lead for the majority of the first half. With under six minutes to go in the opening stanza, junior Chris Stokel sunk a layup to keep the Lions in front, 40-35.
- The final 5:56 belonged to the road team, as the Warriors would close the half on a 16-8, forcing three Molloy turnovers and shooting seven-of-nine from the field to take a 51-48 lead into halftime.
- The cardinal and white were able to tie the game a pair of times in the opening minutes of the second half. Junior Manu Alford came from the weak side of the floor to convert a put back layup and finish the three-point play at the foul line to knot the contest at 63 with 15:19 left on the scoreboard.
- The next 3:16 belonged to the Warriors as they rallied to a 15-2 run to force a Molloy timeout, taking a 78-65 lead with 12:02 remaining.
- The Lions came out of the timeout and cut the deficit to 11, 78-67, after a pair of free throws from junior Bryce Merchant, but that is as close as they would come as East Stroudsburg would lead by as much as 22 and go on to solidify the victory, 106-91.
Top Performances
- Stokel netted a career-high 24 points and tied a game-high five assists.
- Merchant totaled 19 points and secured nine rebounds.
- Alford added 16 points and seven rebounds.
- Freshman Chase Timberlake rounded out the top scorers with 12 points.
Up Next
Molloy will open East Coast Conference play in Western New York as they'll travel to take on D'Youville Friday, December 5 at 7:45 p.m.
