Stanners Knock Off Sumpter, Loughlin
Molloy rode Kevin Hamilton's hot hand and used a
balanced effort to hold off a pesky Loughlin squad
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69-63 in the seeding round of the Brooklyn-Queens
playoffs Tuesday night at St. Francis College in
Brooklyn.
Hamilton caught fire from deep midway through the
third quarter, connecting on three triples in that
stanza, and hit for five in the game, as the lanky
6'4'' shooting guard collected 24 points for Jack
Curran's crew.
Hamilton hit threes on consecutive possessions to
close out the third quarter, handing the Stanners a
50-48 lead after three. The Lions would regain the
lead during three separate fourth quarter spurts,
keyed by a Curtis Sumpter dunk off the break and a lob
from Kojo Mensah to Sumpter off the inbound, but
Molloy answered every time with rallies of their own
to tie it up, as 6'6'' combo forward Kevin Diffley
stuck back a teammate's miss and Marlon Smith
converted on two free throws.
A straightaway three by Stanner shooting specialist
Paul Twomey gave the Stanners a one-point lead with
3:14 left to play, but the wily Sumpter would get
Diffley off his feet with an upfake and bank in a
ten-footer from the baseline, Loughlin reclaiming the
lead, 60-59, with less than two minutes to play.
It was at this juncture that the Holy Cross-bound
Hamilton would take matters into his own hands. With
just over a minute to play, Hamilton connected on his
fifth three pointer, putting the Stanners up two,
62-60. On the ensuing possession Hamilton snatched a
Loughlin pass and took it in for the deuce, fouled by
Courtney Johnson in the process. Hamilton connected on
the free throw to put Molloy up five, 65-60, with :40
seconds to play, and the game was out of reach.
Hamilton and point guard Marlon Smith would cap off
the win with successful trips to the foul line, Molloy
escaping with a 69-63 victory.
For Molloy, Hamilton hit for 24, including five
three-pointers, and added five assists and three
steals. Versatile forward Kevin Diffley chipped in 13
points and 8 rebounds, while junior forward Ivan
Marnika added 8 points. The junior point man Smith
contributed 7 points, as did manchild sophomore wing
Sundiatta Gaines.
Loughlin was led by Curtis Sumpter's 17 points, 12
in the second half. Mensah added 12 points, and
jumping jack Jason Olive 9. Sniper Michael Wright
tallied nine points, all on three pointers, and combo
guard Courtney Johnson added 8 points, including two
deep balls.