Senior guard Marquise Moore scored 21 of his 25 points in the final two quarters as both he and the Knights regrouped from a slow start to post a 58-46 win overXaverian at home last night.
Moore's performance was a mirror of how his team played last night; with lots of energy from start to finish but at times in the first half settling for jumpers. They trailed 21=20 at halftime as Xaverian also had trouble finding a comfortable offensive rhythm thanks largely to good work by Holy Cross' defense on the Clippers' speedy guard Dillon Burns.
All of Holy Cross' guards helped picking him up in transition and negating his speed. They held the senior guard to just two points and gave their offense time to find its bearings. And in the second half, they did just that by driving to the basket. Moore was the catalyst who began with drives but as the game wore on showed his terrific middle game and then made three point shots as well. His good work triggered a 13-1 run that culminated by a Maraega Clarke dunk that helped Cross open a lead that they never relinquished. The versatile 6'2" senior is a versatile scorer and a long and active defender who certainly has the look of a D-I prospect. Teams who need a guard who can add scoring punch, length and poise in a spring recruit should stop and take a look, they will find themselves a great kid who fits the bill perfectly.
Xaverian got 20 points from Brian Bernardi, they struggled to find additional offense with Burns struggling and Shakeel Kemp again in foul trouble as he was against Molloy. The Clippers also marked the return of talented junior point guard Lamel Faison from a knee injury and while he clearly showed some rust he also demonstrated his ability to help the Clippers move the ball with both the pass and dribble which will help them as he plays more.
Paul Gilvary's Knights have put together a winning season quietly perhaps because of the absence of the proverbial star player. But with a core of seniors who are all capable of big games, the unheralded Knights have as good a chance as anyone to be cutting the nets down at Fordham in March
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