DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. -- The Mercy College men’s basketball
faced Molloy College today, and walked away with a 106-93 loss at
the Mercy College Gym.
Mercy trailed by as many as 23 points in the second half, and
fought back to cut the lead to as few as eight with 26 seconds to
play. “We went into a 1-2-2 zone for the first time all
year,” said Head Coach Sean O’Connor, as he talked
about the frantic finish. “We got three straight turnovers
and layups, and it put us right back in the game.”
Molloy (9-12, 6-7 ECC) got off to a fast start, and never looked
back. After the Lions scored on their first possession,
Mercy’s Jimmy Gunville (Raynham, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham)
scored his only points of the half to knot the score. Molloy would
then take charge of the game, and go on a 19-4 run over the next
six minutes.
Mercy would rally back, and cut the lead to just eight points on a
Hasaan Powell (Bridgeport, Conn./Iowa Central CC) jumper with eight
minutes to go. Molloy would extend its lead, only to have Mercy cut
it back to as few as nine, with just under a minute to go.
In the first half, Molloy shot better than 55% from the floor,
including 50% from three-point land. The Lions also held a
commanding 26-13 lead in rebounds.
After intermission, the Lions roared out of the box and quickly
extended the lead to 23 points just five minutes in. But the
resilient Mavericks would not go quietly. Bryan Van Cott (Oyster
Bay, N.Y./Oyster Bay) scored 16 of his team-high 24 points in the
second half to lead the charge.
“He’s really a guard who has to play big,”
O’Connor added, as he spoke about Van Cott. “He had to
guard [Brian] Hutchinson, who is a great player in this
league.” Molloy’s Hutchinson (Elmont,N.Y./Elmont) led
all scorers today with 36 points, making 14 of his 21 field goal
attempts. He added a game-high 13 rebounds as well.
Mercy now embarks on a three-game road trip, and will play at NYIT
on Wednesday, February 3. That game is slated for a 7:00 p.m. tip,
following the women’s game.
Men's Basketball
 |