FLUSHING, N.Y. (Jan. 22, 2020) – A 41-point second half coupled with swarming defense helped the Queens College men's basketball team to a key victory in East Coast Conference play as the Knights took down District of Columbia by a 75-70 final score on Wednesday (Jan. 22) at Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
Queens is now 4-14 on the season and 3-5 in East Coast Conference play while District of Columbia falls to 8-11 on the year and 3-4 in league action.
Tyrese Crosdale had a team-high 15 points for Queens in the win while
Elijah Bovell added 11 points and five rebounds.
Dwayne Henry Jr. scored 11 points and
Keenan Gorski had ten points off the bench.
Zachary Olukanni's 25 points led all scorers as Cheyenne Nettleton added 15 for UDC.
The first half started off slowly for both sides, with the teams tied at 19-all with under seven minutes remaining in the opening frame of basketball. Queens would take a 28-24 lead thanks to a 6-0 run bolstered on four free throws from
Kevin Buron and a Crosdale lay-up as the Knights led going into the final four minutes of action. UDC, however, would hit four three-pointers down the stretch with Colon knocking down three of those long-range jumpers; Olukanni finished with 19 first-half points and Nettleton had 12 as the visitors led 42-34 going into the halftime break.
UDC started the second half on an 8-3 run and Queens rallied back to bring the contest within a possession at 63-61 with six minutes to play in regulation. Gorski hit two critical three-pointers to bring the Knights back into the contest down the stretch and the Knights took their first lead at 67-65 with four minutes remaining as
David Grady III dunked home the tying bucket before Bovell's turnaround jumper gave the Knights the lead. Queens would continue to press with two buckets by Redd giving the Knights a 73-68 lead in the last minute of play. A jumper by Jahmir Williams brought UDC within three points at 73-70 with 25 seconds to go but Redd iced the game with a pair of free throws as QC completed the comeback win.
Queens dips out of conference to face Cheyney University of Pennsylvania on Sunday (Jan. 25) at 3 p.m. on the outskirts of Philadelphia.
