QUEENS, N.Y. – It happened in a blink of the eye. Just over five minutes into the game, the Queens College men's basketball team had already built a 15-point lead on its way to defeating Molloy College, 78-62, Tuesday night at Fitzgerald Gymnasium.

Diego Maldonado led the Knights in scoring with 13, while Tyree White added 12 points and six steals. With the win, Queens improved its East Coast Conference record to 3-3 and its overall mark to 5-6. 

Senior forward Travis Whitfield got the Knights going right away, scoring six of his nine points in the game's first two minutes on a flurry of layups. Back-to-back jumpers from Carson Murphy, one of which came from three-point range, gave the Knights a 14-3 lead. This followed by consecutive baskets in the paint for Paul Little put Queens ahead 20-5 with 14:42 remaining in the first half. The Knights were on fire, connecting on nine of their first 12 shots.

Molloy, meanwhile, settled in and attempted to whittle the Queens College lead with scoring from sophomore guard Maurice Gatson. Baskets by Mohamed Dansoko and Kyheim Chaplin as well as a three-pointer by Maldonado kept the visitors at bay and allowed the Knights to maintain the lofty lead. Queens took its largest lead of the first half when a free throw by Dansoko made the score 42-24. Heading into intermission the Knights were leading 46-33.

Two quick three pointers by junior guard Charlie Maquardt for Molloy cut the lead to single digits, 47-39, two minutes into the second half. The Knights bounced back with a jump shot by White after he corralled an offensive rebound, and later guard Marquis Roberts took the harm and scored the hoop for a three-point play to return the lead to 15 points. Another three-pointer by Maldonado with just under nine minutes left in the game gave the Knights the largest cushion of the game, 67-48, and settled the way for the team to hold out and win by a final margin of 78-62. 

A major positive for Queens was the team's balanced scoring. Seven players scored between seven and 13 points for the Knights including Chaplin connecting on two threes and scoring ten points off the bench. Little and Dansoko each chipped in eight points off the bench as well. On the other end, Gatson ended up leading the visitors with 18 points as Molloy dropped 2-3 in conference play and 4-9 overall. 

Up next, Queens College takes the short trip out to Oakdale, Long Island to take on conference foe Dowling College on Thursday, Jan. 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.