Jan 11, 2011
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Jan. 10, 2011) - NYIT men's basketball faced a tought 72-56 loss on the road at Molloy College Monday night. With the loss, the Bears dropped to 5-6 on the season and 3-4 in East Coast Conference play, while the Lions improved to 5-6 overall and 5-2 in league action.
Senior Jerrell Walker (Stockton, Calif.) posted a game-high 22 points, while junior Jahari McKnight (El Sobrante, Calif.) and senior Daniel Berg (Osteras, Norway) added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
ECC Rookie of the Week John Petrucelli tabbed a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Molloy. The Lions out-rebounded the Bears 33-22, while shooting 52.6% from the field compared to NYIT's 38.2%.
Molloy controlled the scoreboard early on and the closest NYIT was able to get was within four points at 9:54 on a layup from Walker. From there the Lions nailed three straight baskets to push ahead by 10-points, 23-13, with 5:23 remaining. The Bears fought hard to close the gap in the final minutes of the first half with seven straight points from Walker and senior Carl Kindborg (Stockholm, Sweden). However, Molloy lead 32-24 heading into the second half.
The Bears rallied in the opening minutes of the second half to produce a 9-3 run that brought the score within two points, 35-33, with 14:44 to play. However, NYIT could not tie it up. Three minutes later, the Bears found themselves within one-point, 39-33, after a layup and trey from Berg. Yet again, the Bears could not gain control of the scoreboard. Molloy pushed its lead to 12-points, 53-51, with 3:04 remaining on a jumper from Petrucelli. The Bears were obly able to score twice more - a three-pointer from Kindborg and a layup from Dominic Scurry (Ozone Park, N.Y.) - before the Lions went on to win 72-56.
NYIT returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 13 on the road at St. Thomas Aquinas. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. in Sparkill, N.Y. The game, which was originally scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 12, was changed due to the threat of inclement weather in the New York area for Tuesday into Wednesday.