Men's Basketball Closes Out Regular Season With 75-67 Victory at Molloy
Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (March 2, 2013) – The LIU Post men's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 75-67 victory over Molloy College on Saturday afternoon at Quealy Gymnasium.
The Pioneers improve to 18-8 overall with a 13-5 record in the ECC, while Molloy goes to 17-9 with an identical 13-5 conference slate. New York Institute of Technology, with a 75-56 victory over Roberts Wesleyan, also has a 13-5 conference record, but by virtue of series sweeps of Molloy and LIU Post, clinches the #2 seed in the upcoming ECC Tournament, while the Pioneers take the #3 seed and the Lions capture the #4 seed.
A tumultuous first half saw five lead changes and three ties as the teams traded the lead back and forth in the early minutes. Tied at 14-14 at the 10:45 mark, freshman
Emile Blackman (Dix Hills, N.Y.) that sparked an 8-0 spurt by the Pioneers, giving them a 22-14 lead with 9:01 left in the first half. The visitors upped their lead to double-digits with a 36-26 advantage at 4:26, but Molloy clawed back and cut the Pioneer lead to just two at the half, 39-37.
Molloy started off the half by tying the game 39-39, but the Pioneers reclaimed the lead with a jumper by senior guard
Tobin Carberry (Hamden, Conn.) at 18:36, and retained for the next four minutes, until Richard Zoller's bucket at 14:26 tied it at 47.
Blackman put the Pioneers back on top, but a trey by Matt McLeod gave Molloy its first lead of the half, 50-49, at 12:42, and the Lions held the lead for the next several possessions until senior guard
Billy Butler (Elmont, N.Y.) tied it at 58, then hit another jumper at 6:44 at 60-58 to give the Pioneers the lead.
Molloy continued to keep the game close, and tied the score for the seventh time at 65 with 3:15 to play, but freshman guard
Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) nailed a basket on the ensuing possession to make it 67-65 in favor of the visitors with 2:49 remaining. The Pioneers made the lead stand for the rest of the contest as Molloy cut it to two, 69-67, with 1:08 to play, but could not get any closer as Carberry hit a jumper, followed by two free throws by Blackman with 25 seconds left to give the Pioneers a six-point cushion. Blackman iced the win as he threw down a dunk with three seconds to go and made it a 75-67 victory.
Carberry led the Pioneer contingent of double scorers with 21 points, while Blackman scored 19 off the bench. Burns chipped in with 16 points and a team-high six assists, while Allen added 11 points and nine boards.
For Molloy, John Petrucelli led all scorers with 22 points, and Jimmy Nolan and Matt McLeod each added 14 points.
The Pioneers shot 50% (25-50) from the floor and 52.9% (9-17) from behind the arc. They held a 43-36 edge on the glass as well.