LATE CHARGE BY NYIT DOOMS MEN'S BASKETBALL, 81-71

Box Score vs. NYIT - February 11, 2009

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Feb. 11, 2009) – Knotted at 65-all with just over four minutes to go in the second half, New York Institute of Technology registered a game-winning 8-0 run in a time of 2:07 to hold off the Molloy College men’s basketball team, 81-71, on Wednesday at Quealy Gymnasium in Rockville Centre, N.Y. With the loss, the Lions dropped to 7-15 overall and 6-7 in East Coast Conference action.

Senior guard Bryant Lassiter (Bay Shore, N.Y.) began the burst with a lay-up and capped it off with a three-point play. Senior forward Mickell Vickers (Babylon, N.Y.) added a three-point play as well. Lassiter finished out the contest with a game-high 20 points (5-13 FG, 9-11 FT). He also dished off four assists and swiped one steal. Vickers had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Tied at 32-32 as the second half commenced, Molloy went on a short 7-0 streak in a period of 2:44 to take a 39-32 lead with 17:02 left. Junior forward Girard Fitts (Uniondale, N.Y.) recorded the first five points off of a trifecta from the corner and a lay-up. Sophomore forward Brian Hutchinson (Elmont, N.Y.) capped it off with a lay-up as well.

NYIT (12-10, 7-6 ECC) answered with a 7-0 spurt to deadlock the score for the fifth time at that point. Sophomore guard/forward Carl Kindborg (Sweden) kicked things off with a lay-up and closed it out with a three-ball from the top of the key. Junior forward Arthur Braswell (Compton, Calif.) netted two free throws in the middle of the run.

Leading 10-9 with 12-plus minutes left in the opening stanza, the Bears drew up a 7-0 run over a span of 1:17 to grab hold of a 17-9 advantage with 11:20 remaining. Vickers began and wrapped up the burst with a lay-up. Junior forward Benny Flores (Stockton, Calif.) added a three. Two minutes later, the Lions were down seven and cut the deficit to one with a 6-0 spurt.

Junior forward Ian Thomas-Minor (Brooklyn, N.Y.) started it with a jumper. Junior guard Chris Manning (Queens, N.Y.) followed with a lay-up. Fitts ended the streak with a deuce. Soon after, both squads were tied up going into the break (32-32) following two free ones by Manning at the 37-second juncture.

Overall, Molloy shot 39.1 percent (27-for-69) from the field and 66.7 percent (12-for-18) from the foul line. Six different Lions scored in double figures. Fitts finished with 16 points and two steals. Manning registered 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Thomas-Minor posted 11 points and five rebounds. Hutchinson and junior guards Carl Palmer (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Michael Johnson (Jamaica, N.Y.) each tallied 10 points.

Hutchinson also brought down nine rebounds, while Johnson picked up seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block. Freshman forward Matt Wafula (Harlem, N.Y.) chipped in with two points, two rebounds and one assist. Freshman forward Sean Hehir (Massapequa, N.Y.) added one steal, one assist and one rebound.

As for NYIT, it was 26-of-65 (40.0 percent) from inside the arc and 25-of-34 (73.5 percent) from the charity stripe. Braswell collected 14 points and 12 rebounds. Kindborg gathered 13 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Laurence Abel (Brooklyn, N.Y.) earned 11 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Daniel Berg (Osteras, Norway) checked in with four points, four rebounds and two assists. Flores added five rebounds and three points.

Head Coach Charlie Marquardt and the Lions return to the court this Saturday for a 1 p.m. opening tip against Adelphi University at Quealy Gymnasium in Rockville Centre, N.Y. If you are unable to make it, you can follow all of the action via Live Stats at http://livestats.prestosports.com/molloy or through a video stream at http://www.eccsports.org.