Men's Basketball Swallows Tough 88-85 Loss at Molloy
Box Score
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Jan. 22, 2014) - On Wednesday, the LIU Post men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 88-85 decision to East Coast Conference rival Molloy at Quealy Gymnasium in Rockville Centre, N.Y.
Holding a slight 25-23 edge with under seven minutes left in the first half, the Lions (9-7, 6-2 ECC), who shot 49.2 percent (32-for-65) from the floor, rolled off a 17-7 run over a span of 4:30 to extend their lead to 42-30 at the 2:01 mark. Senior forward John Petrucelli (Hicksville, N.Y.) accounted for 11 of the points.
The Pioneers (11-6, 6-3 ECC) finished the session strong though, scoring seven of the final nine points to head into the intermission trailing 44-37. Sophomore guard
Jared Hall (South Orange, N.J.) bookended the spurt with two free throws and a lay-up. An
Akosa Maduegbunam (Hyde Park, Mass.) trey was sandwiched in-between.
Three-plus minutes into the latter period, a trifecta by Charlie Marquardt (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) propelled the hosts to a nine-point advantage (56-47). Marquardt was Molloy's second-leading scorer with 22 points off the bench. Petrucelli recorded the game-high, pouring in 36 points on 13-for-22 shooting.
Yet, the visitors answered with a 10-2 burst in a stint of 2:24 to close the gap to 58-57. Junior guard
P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) commenced the spurt with a jumper in the paint. Fellow junior guard
Isiah Stokley (Queens, N.Y.) rounded it out with a pair of makes at the stripe. He chipped in a dunk as well.
Soon after, Molloy again managed to build as much as a double-digit advantage (71-61). However, LIU Post chipped away at the deficit, and came within only a single point (86-85) in the waning seconds. Nevertheless, the green and gold were unable to complete the comeback, as 13 missed free throws in the second half doomed the Pioneers.
Senior forward
Vaughn Allen (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) registered his sixth double-double (19 points, 17 rebounds) of the year. Hall collected 16 points and three steals. Torres, Stokley and sophomore guard
Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) checked in 12 points apiece. Stokley pulled down five boards as well, while Burns dished out three assists. Maduegbunam knocked down a pair of three-pointers for a six-point performance.
Head Coach
Erik Smiles and his LIU Post squad return to the hardwood Saturday (Jan. 25), when they host Queens in an ECC clash at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y. The opening tip is slated for 3:30 p.m.