Bloomsburg, Pa. – The Molloy men's basketball team began 2026-27 with an 84-80 victory over the Bloomsburg Huskies Tuesday evening inside E.H. Nelson Fieldhouse.
How it Happened
- Not much separated the two squads in the opening 13 minutes, as each team took advantage of clean looks to shoot efficiently from the field.
- The contest was tied at 29, with Molloy shooting 50 percent from the field and 63 percent from three-point range, while Bloomsburg shot 55 percent and forced five turnovers.
- The Lions began to give themselves some breathing room through the under-four media timeout, putting together an 11-6 run to pull ahead, 40-35. Throughout the run seniors Jared Weakly and Chris Stokel combined for nine of the 11 points while the defense created three turnovers.
- Molloy closed the opening half with an 11-4 run over the final 3:30, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including one three-pointer. The run was sparked by senior Bryce Merchant who scored seven points to help give the road team a 51-39 lead going into halftime.
- The Huskies came out firing in the second half, opening the stanza with a 14-4 run over the first 3:50. Bloomsburg shot 63 percent during the stretch while holding the Lions to one-of-seven from the floor to come within two, 55-53.
- The cardinal and white were able to generate a multi-possession lead, 64-58, after consecutive baskets from senior Rashad Kee and Merchant before Bloomsburg responded with a mini 6-0 run to knot the contest at 64 with 8:38 left on the scoreboard.
- Through the following 1:14 the road team put together a furious 8-0 run to take back control of the tempo, 72-64. Weakly netted four points while Kee and senior Darius Coleman added a field goal each.
- Consecutive three-point field goals from Bloomsburg put them back within one possession, 72-69, before Molloy answered right back with an 8-2 run to regain momentum with an 80-71 advantage, forcing a Huskies timeout with four minutes to go.
- The key during the run was the Lions shooting four-for-four from the foul line, with Stokel and freshman Shamari Mitchell sinking a pair of free throws each.
- Bloomsburg cut the deficit back to two, 80-78, with 1:19 remaining, but the Lions would end the final moments of the contest shooting four-of-five from the charity stripe while holding the Huskies without a field goal to go on and seal the victory, 84-80.
Top Performances
- Weakly led collecting a double-double scoring 20 points and 12 rebounds while dishing out a game-high six assists on 70 percent shooting.
- Merchant totaled 19 points and seven rebounds.
- Coleman added 17 points shooting 7-of-10 from the field.
- Stokel rounded out the top scorers with 12 points while shooting 7-of-8 from the foul line.
Up Next
The Lions will play in the Conference Challenge hosted by Queens College in Flushing, N.Y. Friday, November 13 against local rival Adelphi beginning at 7:30 p.m.
