Brown Scores Game-High 19 Points as Men's Basketball Hosts Molloy
Box Score DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 4, 2015) – Despite a game-high 19 points from junior Jeremiah Brown (Queens Bridge, N.Y./Hostos CC) and nearly overcoming a double-digit deficit in the final minute of play, the Mercy College men's basketball team suffered a 71-68 setback to East Coast Conference foe Molloy College on Wednesday night at Mercy Gymnasium.
The Mavericks (7-12, 2-11 ECC) drop their third contest of the year by three points or less, while the Lions (12-9, 7-6 ECC) have now won two in a row following a three-game losing streak.
Brown continued his strong recent play finishing 5-of-10 from the field and 7-of-9 from the line to go along with five rebounds. Junior Gerald McClease (New Haven, Conn./Sullivan CC) came off the bench to score 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting and snared seven boards. Junior Jason Quijada (Monsey, N.Y./Rockland CC) rounded out three Mavericks scoring in double figures with 11 points.
Leading three in double figures for the guests was Kevin Bowles who poured in 15 points.
Mercy got off to another strong start in front of the home fans, jumping out to a 17-13 lead at the 8:48 mark of the first half following back-to-back baskets from sophomore Tyshon Carter (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Monroe College). The Lions fired back with a 14-4 run to take their largest lead of the frame, 27-21, with 4:46 left.
The Mavericks would end the period on an 11-4 run of their own to head into the intermission up 32-31.
The second stanza saw Mercy come out of the gate on fire as they built their largest lead of the game, 47-38, following a Brown jumper at the 13:48 mark and the Mavericks looked to be taking control of the game.
The guests would not back down and following a three-point play by Charlie Marquardt that cut the lead to 47-41 with 12:42 remaining, Molloy would tack on six more unanswered to tie the game up at 47-47 with 9:33 showing on the clock.
The Mavericks as has been a trademark under first year Head Coach Dr. Jody King would not bow down to the Lions and responded with four in a row of their own to regain the lead at 51-47 with 8:30 left in regulation.
However, Molloy came back on an 18-3 run over the next six minutes to take their largest lead of the game at 11, 65-54, with 2:57 remaining and it looked like they were going to run away with the contest.
The two teams traded baskets for the next two minutes with the Lions holding a 69-58 edge with 34 seconds left to play and seemed to have the game well in hand. The Mavericks however would make things interesting as Brown nailed a trifecta with 24 seconds left to cut the deficit to 69-61.
The two squads would each nail a pair of free throws before McClease drained a three to cut the Molloy lead to 71-66 with seven seconds on the clock. After another Lions turnover, the Mavericks would cut it to a one possession game, 71-68, with three seconds left on a Najee Senior (Bronx, N.Y./Western Okla. State College) layup but time would run out as Mercy tried to send Molloy to the line.
The Mavericks shot 43.9 percent from the floor, but were let down on the defensive end as the guests shot 50.0 percent on the night. Mercy was able to maintain a 34-27 edge on the glass but the Lions were able to maintain a large differential at the line going 23-of-27 (85.2 percent) compared to 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) for the Mavericks.
Coach King and the Mavericks will return to action this Saturday, February 7th against Queens College at 2:30 p.m. in a home doubleheader with the women.
