Buffalo, N.Y. – The Molloy men's basketball team began its East Coast Conference schedule Friday night, falling to the Saints of D'Youville, 82-79, inside Saints Center Gym. Molloy now sits at 0-8 overall and 0-1 in ECC play while D'Youville improves to 1-6 overall and 1-0 in league play.
How it Happened
- D'Youville began the contest on a 10-4 run before back-to-back baskets from sophomore Dylan Kopp and junior Jared Weakly brought the Lions within two, 10-8, under six minutes into the contest.
- Molloy stayed within one possession over the next four minutes of action before the Saints put together a mini 6-0 run to take a nine-point lead, 24-15, midway through the opening stanza.
- The home team kept the cardinal and white at arm's length for the remainder of the half and would take a 47-39 lead heading into halftime.
- The Saints kicked off the second half to the tune of a 13-5 run to gain its largest lead of the contest, 60-44, with 15:56 remaining.
- Molloy would begin the climb back midway through the half, putting together a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to four, 68-64, with 7:57 left on the scoreboard.
- In a 1:43 span, junior Bryce Merchant netted six straight points for the Lions to bring the squad back all square, 74-74, with 3:01 to go.
- Three lead changes would occur until the final minute, where junior Manu Alford sunk a layup to push the Lions in front, 79-78 with 55 seconds left.
- The Saints would hit a jumper with 40 seconds on the clock and drain two free throws with under five seconds remaining and go on to solidify the victory, 82-79.
Top Performances
- Merchant led all Lions scorers with 19 points on 64 percent shooting.
- Sophomore Sebastian Bosquez tallied 14 points in 22 minutes off the bench.
- Junior Chris Stokel collected 12 points and dished out a game-high four assists.
- Alford added 10 points and tied a career-high four steals while Weakly secured a team-high 11 rebounds.
Up Next
Molloy wraps up its Western New York road trip at third-ranked Daemen Sunday, December 8 at 1:00 p.m.
