ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Feb. 24, 2018) – Despite a team-high 15 points from senior Marko Kozul (Astoria, N.Y./Felician University), the Mercy College men's basketball team ended its 2017-18 season with an 83-61 setback to ECC foe Molloy College on Saturday afternoon.
The Mavericks (10-19, 5-13 ECC) have dropped three in a row and end the season with five times more victories than last year. The Lions (8-20, 7-11 ECC) earn a spot in the ECC Tournament with the win.
Kozul added seven rebounds and junior Dequawne Richards (Bronx, N.Y./Hostos CC) had ten points on 4-of-7 shooting. Senior Brendon Smith (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City CC) contributed a team-high ten rebounds and junior Sal Barbetto (New City, N.Y./Rockland CC) dished out a team-high five assists.
Molloy was led by Curtis Jenkins who had a double-double by way of 24 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
The Lions jumped out to a 9-2 lead following a Mike Torre layup at the 14:34 mark of the first half. A Bryan Griffin (Pomona, N.Y./Saint Joseph Regional) layup with 11:17 on the clock brought the Mavericks to within three, 17-14. Mercy trailed by just five, 24-19, after a Richards layup with 6:45 remaining in the half. Molloy followed with a 7-0 run to build a 31-19 advantage and would head into halftime with a 33-23 lead.
A pair of Kelvin Howard (Temple Hills, Md./Baltimore City CC) free throws to begin the second half cut the deficit to eight, 33-25, before Jenkins answered with a three. Howard drained a three of his own to get the Mavericks back within eight, 36-28, with 19 minutes left. Molloy rallied back with a 12-5 run to increase the lead back to 15, 48-33, with 15:46 on the clock.
A Richards layup at the 13:29 mark made it 48-38, but the Lions would ensue with a 12-2 run to build a 20-point advantage, 60-40, with 10 minutes remaining. Molloy held a double-digit lead the rest of the way and would build the lead to as many as 27 in securing the win.
Mercy shot 34.8 percent (24-of-69) from the floor, 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from downtown and 70.0 percent (7-of-10) from the foul line. Molloy shot 43.8 percent (32-of-73) from the field, 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from beyond the arc and 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the charity stripe.
