FLUSHING, N.Y. – Wrapping up non-conference action to conclude the fall semester, the Queens College men's basketball team welcomed the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College to Fitzgerald Gymnasium Monday evening.
Three Knights registered in double figures led by junior
Dion Herrington (Englewood, N.Y.) 11 points, and sophomore
Elijah Blackman's (Queens, N.Y.) season-high 11 points off the bench. While sophomore
Jayden Seraphin (Lakeview, N.Y.) tallied 10 points, but on a night where the home side committed a season-high 25 fouls, Queens fell to the score of 64-53 as the visitors went shot 86.1% from the charity stripe going 31-36 at the line.
Game Recap
Seraphin got the scoring started for the Knights at the 19:37 mark as but it would be a sluggish start for both teams as both side went cold from the field in the opening four minutes of the game.
Herrington would stop the scoreless drought to put Queens up 4-0 at the 16:46 mark before the visitors got on the scoreboard at the 16:06 mark with a shot from beyond the arc.
It would be another scoreless drought before Blackman put the Knights on an 8-0 run over the next 4:16 minutes of play (14:15 to 11:50) as Queens jumped ahead for a nine-point edge of 12-3 forcing the visitors to take a timeout.
The timeout would help the Purple Knights end their own scoring drought as they cut the Knights' deficit down to five, 13-8 before Herrington and Blackman knocked down two long-distance shots to extend their lead back to eight, 19-11 just before the under-eight media timeout.
But in a game of runs and cold shooting, the Knights went into a drought of their own as they went scoreless over the next 4:33 minutes of play as Saint Michael's put together a 9-0 run to take 20-19 lead with 3:38 left until halftime.
Both sides would exchange leads for the remainder of the first half but it was the visitors who would take a slim 27-26 lead into halftime.
In the first half, Queens shot 29.03% going 9-31 from the field, while Saint Michael's went 8-28 from the field on a 28.57% shooting performance.
In a game that featured a total of seven ties and seven lead changes, foul trouble would limit the Knights as they looked to build a consistent run in the second half.
Queens came out of halftime with a different energy as the Knights went 5-5 from the field for the first 3:02 minutes of play (20:00 to 16:58) on an 11-2 run as they reclaimed an eight-point lead, 37-29 forcing the Purple Knights to take a timeout.
But once again, the Purple Knights used the stoppage of play to their advantage as they went on an 8-0 run from the 16:20 mark to the 14:52 mark to tie the game 37-37.
Queens would respond back with a 4-0 run as they took a 41-37 lead with 13:18 left in the game before both sides traded buckets.
With the score tied 45-45 and 9:44 left in the game, the visitors went on a 15-3 run as Queens were called six fouls from the 9:31 mark to the 5:38 mark putting the Purple Knights at the line 11 times.
The Knights were unable to find their rhythm as they were forced to shuffle their lineup for the remainder of the game leading them to drop their fourth game in a row to the final score of 64-53.
By The Numbers
- Herrington recorded 11 points (5-10 FG) to go with five rebounds and five assists. While Blackman tallied a season-high 11 points off the bench (2-11 FG, 6-7 FT).
- Seraphin tallied 10 points (5-10 FG) to go with seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
- Senior Tyler Carey (Bay Shore, N.Y.) tallied seven points (3-5 FG) to go with five rebounds, four blocks, and one steal.
- On a night where both sides shot below 40% from the field as the Knights went 18-55 on a 32.7% shooting performance, while the Purple Knights shot 35.6% going 16-45 from the field.
- The Knights committed a season-high 25 fouls as the Purple Knights went 31-36 at the charity stripe on the night including 21-23 in the second half.
- Queens went 13-20 from the line on 17 Purple Knights fouls.
NEXT GAME: Head coach
Matt Collier and the Knights return to action in the New Year as they return to East Coast Conference play as the Lions of Molloy University visit Fitzgerald Gymnasium on Wednesday (Jan. 4) evening. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Live Stats: Men's Basketball | Live Stream: ECC Network
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