ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – Continuing the ECC/NE10 Conference Challenge Saturday (Nov. 11) evening, the Queens College men's basketball team matched up against the Panthers of Adelphi University inside Quealy Gymnasium.
Looking to rebound from Friday's season opener double overtime loss to Pace, five Knights scored in double figures led by senior guard
Sunnie Diamond (Atlanta, GA) who recorded his second straight 20-point performance with a team-high 24 points, while the duo of senior
Malik Bentinck (St. Albans, N.Y.) and
Dante Griffin (Utica, N.Y.) combined for 26 points. It would be the big production of junior
Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) and junior
Omar Nkonde (Harlem, N.Y.) who combined for 21 points off the bench which would play a big part in helping the Knights defeat the Panthers to the score of 83-79 in overtime as Queens earned their first victory of the year.
Match Recap
It would be a slow start for the Knights to open the first half as they trailed by nine, 13-4 in the early going.
But Queens would slowly start to find a rhythm as they continued to keep their deficit in the single digits. Trailing by nine, 32-23 with 2:26 to go until halftime, the trio of Nkonde, Chester, and Griffin would help the Knights cut their deficit down to four, 35-31 heading into halftime.
It would be a strong beginning to open the second half as the duo of Bentinck and Diamond combined for six points to knot the game at 37-37 with 18:22 to go.
As the Panthers extended their advantage back to four, 41-37, a 10-3 run led by Diamond would see the Knights take a 47-44 lead with 13:53 left in the second half.
Both teams would continue to match each other bucket for bucket as neither side led by more than three in the middle stages of the second half.
However, the Panthers would take a five-point advantage of 66-61 after two made free throws with 3:15 left in the game.
But the Knights stayed determined to end the Conference Challenge on a positive note as they went on a 6-0 run to take a slim lead of 67-66 with 1:45 to go.
After Bentinck earned his fifth foul of the evening, Adelphi would tie the game at 67-67 as they were unable to convert both free throws with 1:36 left in the game.
As the Knights went 0-of-3 from the field, the Panthers would miss two free throws as Queens went into their second straight overtime game of the year.
After a tough loss the night before in double overtime, the Knights would go on a 9-2 run capped off by a Griffin three-pointer to put Queens up by seven, 76-69 with 2:48 left in the game.
Queens would lead by as much as nine in the overtime stanza but the Panthers would attempt to claw their way back in the game.
Strong free throw shooting as the Knights converted 7-of-10 from the charity stripe would ensure they would even their record on the year as they earned an 83-79 victory over the Panthers.
Saturday's win would give the Knights their second straight victory over the Panthers and first since the 2005-2006 season when they won back-to-back seasons.
By the Numbers
- For the second straight game, Diamond led the Knights' offense as he recorded a team-high 24 points (5-15 FG, 13-16 FT) to go with six rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
- It would be a near triple-double for Griffin as the junior recorded 13 points (3-6 FG, 2-3 3PT, 5-8 FT) to go with seven rebounds, nine assists, and four steals.
- Bentinck recorded 13 points (6-12 FG) with five rebounds and three steals.
- Off the bench, Chester tallied 11 points (5-12 FG) and Nkonde tallied 10 points (4-7 FG) to go with four rebounds
- As a team, the Knights shot 42.9% going 27-63 from the field, while the Panthers shot 53.3% shooting 32-60 from the field.
- Queens shot 76.7% from the free throw line as they went 23-30, while Adelphi shot 10-23 with a 43.5% shooting.
- The Knights forced 26 Panthers turnovers as they held a 26-16 advantage on points off turnovers.
Next Game
The Knights return home on Wednesday (Nov. 15) evening as they welcome the Wolves of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania to town. Tip-off set for 6:00 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), X (Formerly Twitter) (@QCKnights), Queens College MBB (@QCKnights_MBB) and Instagram (qcknightsny), men's basketball (qcmensbball).
