Rockville Centre, N.Y. (Jan. 23, 2019) – The Queens College Men's Basketball team's seven-minute scoreless streak to open the third quarter eliminated all hope of a possible victory on Wednesday night, as the Knights dropped a 65-52 decision to Molloy.

Coming off Saturday's nail-biting 80-79 defeat of District of Columbia, Queens (4-15, 4-5 ECC) was looking to gather momentum and conclude the first half of conference play with a win against the Molloy Lions (12-6, 8-1 ECC) at a packed Quealy Gymnasium. The Lions, whose three-game winning streak had been snapped by Saint Thomas Aquinas (an ECC powerhouse and the 12th ranked team in the nation) on Saturday, had other ideas and proved why they hold second place in the ECC standings.

Still feeling it after his 28-point, eight-trey performance on Saturday against the Firebirds, guard Tyrese Crosdale swished a three-pointer within the first minute of the contest. Fellow guard Shomari Redd showed off his ballhandling and footwork with a difficult lefty lay-up at the 17:30 mark, making it 5-2 Knights. Lion Nick Corbett, though, stemmed the tide by knocking down a fadeaway jumper with a hand in his face at 16:05. Corbett—who ranks third in ECC scoring (19.5 PPG)—had a relatively quiet night with 12 points due to the hounding defense of the QC guards. In fact, both teams went with old-school man-to-man defense for much of the first half, which explains the unbalanced shots players on either side were forced to take. Queens was able to take advantage of the wild and fast-paced play and found itself up 19-14 eleven minutes in, the largest lead the blue and silver would see all game. The six-foot-nine center Wayne Li and the six-foot-seven forward Kevin Buron successfully limited Molloy forward Mike Torre's production in the first half and maintained a strong presence at both the high and low posts.

However, the energy soon shifted to the Lions. Molloy guard Curtis Jenkins's speed and dynamic play would prove too much for the Knights 'D' to handle. Jenkins, whose 18.2 scoring average is fourth in the conference, simply beat QC defenders down the floor, converting on several layups. He would end the half with 13 points, going 4-8 from the field and 5-8 from the free-throw line. Luckily for Queens, guard Keenan Gorski also caught fire. Multiple 15 to 18-foot jump shots from the wings and elbows gave the sophomore eight points in the half, most of them coming in the latter minutes. Despite Gorski's efforts, the halftime score was 31-29 in favor of the Lions.

QC's sluggish second-half start ultimately decided the result. The Knights unexpectedly went cold, going scoreless for the opening seven minutes. Although poor shooting was the main culprit—Queens shot an awful 17.1% in the half, the Lions' aggressive trapping had QC players flustered. It would take two free throws from guard Dwayne Henry Jr. to finally end the 17-0 run Molloy was enjoying. The home team's lead ballooned to 50-33 at one point, but would not grow afterward.

Attempting to reinvigorate his team and create turnovers, head coach Matt Collier began utilizing a zone press with ten minutes left to go. The move worked: the press resulted in several Lions' travelling and backcourt violations. On offense, Crosdale (who finished with 18 points and four triples) did his best Steph Curry imitation by sinking two rainbows from downtown. Forward Jordan Curtis (12 rebounds) got in on the action with an emphatic dunk as well. The offensive resurgence, along with an improved defensive intensity, arrived too late to have much of an impact, as the Lions secured a 65-52 'W.' Molloy's Jenkins had a 15-point night and Torre claimed a double-double by scoring 16 points and grabbing ten rebounds.

The Knights will next be in action on Wednesday Jan. 30 when they host the NYIT Bears at 5pm. The ECC match-up opens QC's second half of league play this season