BOX SCORE

Queens, N.Y. - Charles Dickens would have enjoyed the basketball game at Fitzgerald Gym on Wednesday night, as it was similar to his tome, a Tale of Two Cities.  For the Knights, it was a tale of two halves, as Patrick Parker's (Queens, N.Y./Alfred State) hot shooting helped them defeat USC 88-79.  With the win, QC is now 7-7 in the East Coast Conference.

The game began inauspiciously for QC, as they fell behind 16-5 over the first four-and-half minutes of action.  The five points all came from Patrick Modzelewski (Brooklyn, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy), who shot 3-of-6 in the game.  The Knights didn't fare much better until the end of the half, where they went on an 8-2 run in the final two minutes of action.  In that scoring spree, Luke Mercurio (Hampton Bays, N.Y./Hampton Bays) scored two of his six points, while Parker accounted for four and Kevin Nascimento (Harlem, N.Y./Genesee C.C.) recorded the other two.  Queens trailed 40-31 at the intermission.

The second half saw some torrid shooting from the Knights as they used an 11-1 run over the first four-and-a -half minutes of game time to take a 42-41 lead; the go-ahead basket coming courtesy of a Deejuhan Gray (Toronto, Ont./Amityville) layup off the feed from Daniel Watson (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon).   The Firebirds answered however, and quickly regained the lead when Quasim Jones and Michael Terry connected on back-to-back baskets.

The Knights came from behind once again, as Parker buried consecutive three-pointers en route to his 27 points night.  Queens took the lead for good at the 12:34 mark and pulled away for the 88-79 victory.

While Parker scored 27 points, even more impressive was his shooting line of 11-16 (69%).  Not to be outdone, Mercurio was .750 from the floor and Gray made 3-of-5 field goals.  As a team, the Knights shot 58.8.

The team returns to action on Saturday, February 23, when they travel to Rochester, New York to face Roberts Wesleyan.  The tipoff time is slated for 4:00 PM.