BUFFALO, N.Y. – Continuing their three-game road stand, the Queens College men's basketball team opened East Coast Conference play in Upstate New York beginning with the Saints of D'Youville University inside the College Center Gym.
Senior
Tyler Carey (Bay Shore, N.Y.) recorded his second double-double of the season with 13 points and career-high 17 rebounds, while sophomore
Sunnie Diamond (Hiram, GA) notched 11 points off the bench, but a second-half comeback would fall short as the Knights dropped the ECC opener to the final score of 68-61.
Game Recap
The Knights came out of the gate sluggish missing their first 14 shots as the Saints took a 10-2 lead with 12:56 left in the first half.
Freshman
Eric Tynes (Springfield, MA.) would stop the scoreless drought for the Knights as the rookie knocked down the first field goal from beyond the arc to get them within five, 10-5 at the 11:29 mark.
Free throw shooting would keep the Knights close in the first half as they got within three, 14-11 with 8:42 to go until halftime
But the home side would end the first half on a 16-6 run to take a 13-point lead, 30-17 heading to the locker rooms at halftime.
First-half shooting woes would hammer the Knights as they shot a season-low 16.67% from the field going 5-30 from the field while committing 13 turnovers.
It was a tale of two halves for the Knights as they opened the second half on an 11-2 run from the 18:57 mark to the 15:02 mark to cut the double-digit deficit down to four, 32-28.
As the Knights started to find their rhythm, D'Youville would continue to stay ahead extending their lead back to nine before the under-eight media timeout.
Trailing by nine, senior
Dion Herrington (Englewood, N.Y.) would start a 7-0 run as the Englewood native and Diamond brought the Knights within two, 52-50 with 5:03 left in the game.
However, it would be the closest Queens would get within of completing a comeback as the first-half shooting woes would come back to haunt the Knights as they dropped their first conference game of the season.
Game Highlights
- Carey led the Knights' offense with his second double-double of the season with 13 points (5-9 FG) to go with a career-high 17 rebounds (9-8 Off-Def) and four blocks.
- Off the bench, Diamond recorded 11 points (4-13 FG) with seven rebounds.
- The Knights won the boards battle with a season-high 51-33 edge.
- Queens shot 34.3% with a 23-67 field goal shooting performance, while DYU shot 41.3% with a 26-763 performance from the field.
- The Knights shot a season-low 5-30 FG with 16.67% from the field in the first half but rebounded in the second half shooting 48.65% with an 18-37 shooting performance from the field.
NEXT GAME: Head coach
Matt Collier and the Knights conclude their Upstate New York trip on Sunday (Dec. 4) afternoon with a matchup against Daemen University Wildcats. Tip-off is set for 2:00 P.M.
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