OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Feb. 15, 2020) – The Queens College men's basketball team was unable to answer the challenge from a gritty New York Tech team on Saturday (Feb. 15) as the Knights fell to the Bears in an East Coast Conference match-up by a final score of 70-62 at Recreation Hall in Old Westbury.
 
Queens is now 7-16 with the loss and, more critically, 5-8 in East Coast Conference play with just two weeks remaining in regular season play. That record has the Knights seventh in the ECC standings, a half-game behind District of Columbia, Molloy and New York Tech (6-18, 5-7 ECC) for the final play-off spot.
 
The first half proved to be a back-and-forth affair in the early stages of the contest, with both sides struggling to build a lead of more than two points. In fact, the Knights took a lead at the mid-point of the half on a lay-up by Kevin Buron as Queens led by a 16-14 score. New York Tech would answer back with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes with Tim Dawson's first five points of the game serving as a key catalyst as the host Bears led 23-16 with six minutes to go in the opening half. Queens would get within a four-point deficit on a Shomari Redd jump-shot with just over a minute to play as the Knights trailed by a 32-28 margin before a three-point play by Dawson marked the end of the points in the first half; New York Tech led by a 35-28 margin going into the halftime break.
 
Queens opened the second half on a 6-2 spurt with a Buron jumper bringing the Knights to within a 37-34 score just four minutes into the period. Dawson would once again prove to be the foil in the comeback machine with another three-point play and a Kyonis Owens dunk put Queens in an eight-point hole at 42-34. Thanks to Redd, the Knights were able to stay within striking distance as New York Tech's lead remained at eight points (54-46) with less than eight minutes to play in regulation. Out of a media time-out, however, Marcus Saint-Furcy drilled a wide-open three-pointer to push the Bears' lead back up to eleven points at 57-46.
 
Queens would battle back into the contest once more as a David Grady III turn-around jumper with less than three minutes remaining brought the Knights within a 63-55 deficit. Foul trouble would beset the Bears from there as the home side hit their tenth team foul with two minutes to play in regulation; on the play, Tyrese Crosdale hit two free throws and the lead was only six points at 63-57. Laurynas Stonkus provided a crushing answer with a three-pointer to give New York Tech a 66-57 lead on the next possession and the clock would run out on QC's comeback effort.
 
Redd had another excellent game for the Knights with a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds. The senior guard went 8-for-13 from the floor with Grady III adding eleven points. Buron collected eight points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists while Crosdale helped in the scoring with six points. Elijah Bovell was held to six points on a 3-for-8 shooting performance in the loss.
 
Dawson had a team-high 14 points for New York Tech with Saint-Furcy adding 13 and Jordan Fuchs posting a 12-point effort for the Bears in the victory.
Queens will host St. Thomas Aquinas on Wednesday (Feb. 19) at 5:30 p.m. at Fitzgerald Gymnasium. The contest is the Knights' regular-season home finale in which seniors Buron, Redd and Wayne Li will be honored before the game against the Spartans.