Pope Records 11th 20-Point, Fourth Double-Double Effort as Men's Basketball Hosts ECC Rival Molloy on Senior Day
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 20, 2013) – Senior forward Joseph Pope (Akron, Ohio) recorded his 11th 20-point effort and fourth double-double of the season in his final home game on Senior Day as the Mercy College men's basketball team hosted East Coast Conference rival Molloy College on Saturday night.
The Mavericks, who shot 40.4 percent from the field and an impressive 40 percent from beyond the arc, could not stop the hot-shooting Lions, who hit 50 percent from the field and forced Mercy to commit 26 turnovers, despite outrebounding the Lions, 40-30.
Mercy held the early edge but it was not long before Molloy came up with eight straight points to take a 14-8 lead at the five-minute mark. The Mavericks pulled within two points but the Lions responded with a 14-2 run to extend the margin to 14 at 28-14.
The Mavericks fell behind by 16 as they failed to hit a basket over the next 4:30, but pulled back within nine on an incredible alley-oop dunk by Pope from freshman guard Nate Stitchell (Coventry, R.I.) and three-pointer from junior wing Remi Mignott (Brooklyn, N.Y.). However, sophomore guard Matt McLeod (Greenlawn, N.Y.) converted an and-one three-point play to take Molloy into the half with a 12-point lead.
The Mavericks pulled within eight points immediately as the second half got underway, but shortly after the Lions scored another 10 unanswered points to go up by 17, their largest lead of the game.
Head Coach Adam Parmenter finally brought junior center Kendall Felix (Brooklyn, N.Y.) off the bench to bang down low with Molloy's 7-0 junior center, Tyler Hammett (Clifton Park, N.Y.) much to the home crowd's delight. Felix immediately hit a layup on the other end to kick off a 13-point run for the Mavericks to make it a four-point game and bring the crowd to its feet.
Molloy recovered to score nine straight points as leading scorer junior forward John Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y.) who was limited in the first half due to foul trouble, finally found his shooting stroke. Mercy was able to cut the deficit to single digits but could pull no closer than seven, eventually falling, 78-69.
Pope led the Mavericks with 25 points and added 11 rebounds for the double-double. Junior guard Chaz Morrish (Douglaston, N.Y.) set a career-high for the second consecutive game, pouring in 16 points on 4-6 from three-point land, while Stitchell dished out a career-high nine assists. Mignott added 10 points to round out the double-digit scorers.
McLeod dropped in 24 points on 9-12 shooting from the field while Hammett recorded the double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Brandon Williams (Baldwin, N.Y.) scored 10 points and made five steals while Petrucelli barely reached double digits with 10 points, also leading the team with three assists.
Parmenter and the Mavericks will head to ECC foe Dowling College (9-14, 6-9) on Saturday, Feb. 23 for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff.
