Three Mavericks Score in Double Figures as Men's Basketball Hosts Molloy
Box Score VALHALLA, N.Y. (Dec. 17, 2016) – Despite three Mavericks scoring in double figures, the Mercy College men's basketball team suffered an 86-65 setback to Molloy College in an ECC matchup on Saturday afternoon at Westchester Community College.
The Mavericks (2-10, 0-4 ECC) have dropped two games in a row and remain winless in ECC play, while the Lions (6-6, 3-1 ECC) improve to .500 on the year.
Graduate student Ryan Hickey (Smithtown, N.Y./Dowling College) finished with a team-high-tying ten points and added five rebounds, while senior William Robinson (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Nyack College) contributed ten points, four rebounds and five assists. Junior Jefferson Francois (New York, N.Y./Hostos CC) recorded ten points and five rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting and junior Marko Kozul (Astoria, N.Y./Felician University) nearly ended the contest with a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
Molloy was led by Charlie Marquardt who had a game-high 20 points to lead five Lions scoring in double figures. Jaylen Morris poured in 18 points and Nick Corbett and Curtis Jenkins both netted 17 points.
The Mavericks scored the first three points of the contest on a Hickey layup and Kelvin Howard (Temple Hills, Md./Baltimore City CC) free throw to take a 3-0 lead at the 18:46 mark of the first half. Molloy came back with four straight points to take a brief 4-3 lead before Robinson gave Mercy their last lead of the game at 5-4 with 17:19 left in the opening half.
The Lions followed with an 11-4 run to take a 15-9 lead at the 14:36 mark, but Hickey answered with a trifecta to cut the deficit to three, 15-12, at the 13:37 mark. Molloy responded with a 23-11 run over the next nine minutes to increase the lead to 38-23 with four minutes left before halftime. The Lions would head into halftime with a 16-point lead at 45-29 following a Mike Guzzardi layup right before the buzzer.
The second half saw Hickey and Kozul make back-to-back baskets to get the Mavericks within 12, 45-33, less than a minute into the frame. However, Molloy put an end to any hope of a Mercy comeback with an 11-3 run that put the lead at 20, 56-36, with 15 minutes left. The Mavericks could get no closer than 18 points and the Lions came away with the victory.
Mercy shot 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the floor, 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from downtown and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from the foul line. Molloy shot 54.7 percent (35-of-64) from the field, 37.0 percent (10-of-27) from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent (6-of-9) from the foul line. The Mavericks held a 41-31 edge on the glass which they turned into a 27-5 edge in second chance points.
Head Coach Dr. Jody King and the Mavericks look to rebound when they play at Daemen College on Monday, January 2nd at 8 p.m.
