A Season to Remember 

By: Nakeem Grant

The Molloy Lions have had quite a remarkable regular season for the 2012-2013 campaign. They find themselves in great shape in the East Coast Conference holding down second place. Had it not been for Bridgeport (the team of ahead of Molloy) and their season-high 12-game winning streak, the Lions would probably be the number one team record-wise in the conference. This doesn’t undermine their spectacular year however as they shattered their school’s all-time single season wins record with 17 wins. The Lions will definitely look to be roaring in the playoffs this year.

From game-winning shots to career-highs and milestone moments, this will be a season that Molloy College will never forget. Led by their top three scorers, junior forward John Petruceli, senior guard Jimmy Nolan and sophomore guard Matt McLeod, they have proved to be a potent trio against their opponents.

Nolan joined exclusive company in men’s college basketball when he reached the 1000-point milestone. McLeod has been one of their fire starters offensively, especially during the team’s win against Mercy College when he scored a career-high 24 points. Lastly, Petruceli filled the stat sheet this season for Molloy, leading the team in major categories such as scoring, rebounds and assists.

The backbone of this team has been their stifling defense. They held opponents to a conference best 62.8 points per game. They forced bad shots and poor possessions for their opposition all season long as they finished at the top of the conference in opponent’s field goal percentage at 39%. You can credit guys like Tyler Hammett and Miles Prendergast for shutting down the paint area, grabbing rebounds and forcing teams to take tough, contested outside shots throughout the season.

When you put it all together, it’s no fluke that Molloy has had arguably one of the best seasons in their school’s history. Through grit, hard work and dedication, they played like a true team under their head coach, Charles Marquardt.