FLUSHING, N.Y. – The sophomore duo of
Sunnie Diamond (Hiram, GA) and
Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) combined for 44 points as the Queens College men's basketball team returned to the wins column with an East Coast Conference victory over the visiting College of Staten Island Dolphins Wednesday evening inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
Game Recap
Looking to shake off a six-game losing streak, the Knights came out sluggish to begin the conference action as the home side missed their first eight shots as the Dolphins opened the game on a 6-0 run.
Sophomore
Tyron Wright (Camby, IN) would get the Knights on the scoreboard at the 15:54 mark before the Dolphins extended their lead back to six, 8-2 as Queens struggled to get going.
Diamond having missed five of the past six games and seeing limited action in one game, started to shake off the rust as the Hiram native led a solo 7-0 run charge from the 14:48 mark to the 13:08 mark as Queens took their first lead of the game, 9-8 with 13:08 left until halftime.
The Dolphins would fire back with a 7-2 run of their own as they claimed a 15-11 lead. Diamond continued to lead the charge with his second made three-pointer to bring Queens within one, 15-14 just before the under 12-media timeout.
After Staten Island extended their lead back to three, 17-14, a 6-0 run by freshman
Eric Tynes (Springfield, MA.) and Diamond helped Queens reclaim a slim lead of 20-17 at the 10:28 mark.
The Dolphins would tally a 5-0 run as both teams traded leads. With the Knights trailing 22-20 at the 9:39 mark, Chester would lead the Knights on a 12-3 run as they took a 32-25 edge for good.
After a Staten Island layup broke the scoreless drought at the 5:44 mark for the visitors and Queens leading 32-27, Chester went on a solo 9-5 run capped off by an emphatic steal and dunk as the Knights took their largest lead of the game of 11, 41-30 with 2:34 left in the first half.
The first half saw five lead changes and one tie but the Knights who came out sluggish to begin the game would take an eight-point lead of 43-35 at halftime with Diamond leading the charge with 18 points.
Sophomore
Jayden Seraphin (Lakeview, N.Y.) extended the Knights lead back to 10, 45-35 as Queens opened the scoring to begin the second half.
Staten Island would use a 9-3 run as they started to make an inroad as a Queens 10-point lead was cut down to four, 48-44 at the 15:38 mark.
Diamond would break the Knights scoreless drought with a three-pointer at the 14:09 mark before both sides traded buckets.
With Queens leading by seven, 59-52 with 10:49 left in the game, Seraphin led the Knights with six points as the home went on an 8-2 run capped off by a layup by sophomore
Elijah Blackman (Queens, N.Y.) as they extended their lead to 13, 67-54 with 8:18 left in the game.
After a three-pointer by Staten Island trimmed the lead down to 10, 67-57 with 7:56 remaining, Queens went on a 9-0 run as they claimed a 19-point lead
(largest lead of the game) of 76-57 with 5:30 left in the game.
The Dolphins refused to go away as they cut the lead down to single digits of eight, 78-70 with 2:19 left in the game but Queens would ice the game at the charity stripe going 6-7 from the line over the final 1:22 minutes of play as they earned their second ECC victory of the season with an 84-72 win.
By The Numbers
- Diamond shook off a slow start as the sophomore notched a game and career-high 24 points (8-18 FG, 4-9 3PT, 4-5 FT) to go with 10 rebounds, four assists, four steals, and three blocks.
- Chester tallied a season-high 20 points (7-14 FG, 3-5 3PT, 3-4 FT) to go with seven rebounds (career-high), and two steals.
- Seraphin notched his seven straight double digit figures with 12 points (5-12 FG) to go with four assists, three rebounds, and three steals.
- Junior Malik Bentinck (Queens, N.Y.) recorded seven points (3-5 FG) to go with nine rebounds, while senior Tyler Carey (Bay Shore, N.Y.) notched four points (2-5 FG) with six rebounds and four blocks.
- The Knights shot over 45.6% going 31-68 from the field, while the Dolphins were held to 38.8% from the field going 26-67 on the evening.
- Queens shot 66.7% from the charity stripe going 12-18 from the line.
- Queens forced 19 turnovers on the evening while turning them into 21 points in the victory.
NEXT GAME: Head coach
Matt Collier and the Knights hit the road to conclude the week with a trip to the Nation's Capital on Saturday (Jan. 14) afternoon as they match up against the Firebirds of The University of the District of Columbia. Tip-off set for 3:00 p.m.
For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook (Queens College Athletics), Twitter (@QCKnights), Queens College MBB (@QCKnights_MBB) and Instagram (qcknightsny), men's basketball (qcmensbball).
