Rockville Centre, N.Y. – The Molloy men's basketball team capped its 2025 slate falling to the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's, 85-78, Wednesday afternoon on Bob Houlihan Court. As a result, the Lions sit at 1-12 on the campaign, while the Purple Knights improve to 7-5.
 
How it Happened

• The opening 11 minutes of the first half went back-and-forth with the score sitting at 20 apiece.
• Molloy put together a mini 5-1 run over a 56 second span, giving themselves some breathing room, 25-21, with 5:33 remaining in the opening stanza.
• Two minutes later, Saint Michael's answered with a 8-0 run, to flip the momentum and take a 29-25 lead.
• Junior Bryce Merchant put together four straight points to knot the contest at 29 before Saint Michael's went on a 9-3 run to retake the lead, 38-32, with 48 left to play in the first half.
• Freshman Chase Timberlake closed the half with a pair of three-point field goals, with the final shot coming at the buzzer to send the contest into halftime tied at 38.
• Entering the second half, the game returned to its back-and-forth style of play with both sides answering eachother shot-for-shot- through the opening eight minutes, but a pair of free throws from junior Chris Stokel gave the Lions a three-point lead, 55-52.
• The Purple Knights settled into its offense over the next 2:20 of game time, rallying to an 11-0 run on the back of shooting 80 percent from the floor to take an eight-point lead, 63-55.
• The next five minutes of play saw the Lions find its stride, outscoring the Purple Knights 15-8 led by Timberlake who netted six points, including a three-point basket that brought Molloy within one, 71-70 with 4:33 to play.
• During the run, Molloy held the visitors to 20 percent shooting from the floor and had four players net field goals.
• The road team took the Lions best shot and fired back, putting together another 10-2 run to take its largest lead of the game, 81-72, with 55 seconds remaining on the scoreboard.
• The cardinal and white would come within five in the final seconds, but Saint Michael's would finish off the contest and secure the victory, 85-78.

Top Performances

• Merchant led all scorers, netting a game-high 25 points to go along with nine rebounds.
• Timberlake collected his first career double-double, scoring a career-high 20 points and securing a career-high 13 rebounds.
• Stokel totaled 17 points while shooting seven-of-eight from the foul line.
• Sophomore Dylan Kopp rounded out the top scorers with 11 points.

Up Next
Molloy returns to East Coast Conference play Saturday, January 10 for a matchup against Queens College. Tip-off from Bob Houlihan Court is set for 2:30 p.m.