FLUSHING, N.Y. – Opening East Coast Conference play inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium Wednesday evening, the Queens College men's basketball team welcomed the Firebirds of the University of the District of Columbia to town.
Led by a career-best night from senior
Malik Bentinck (St. Albans, N.Y.) who tallied his second double-double of the year with a match-high 14 points and 13 rebounds, while the duo of senior
Sunnie Diamond (Atlanta, GA) and junior
Dante Griffin (Utica, N.Y.) combined for 24 points, the Knight would end the final 8:11 minutes of the game on a 19-5 to earn a 62-56 comeback over the Firebirds in ECC play.
With the win, Queens improves to 4-2 overall and opens conference play with a victory for the first time since the 2019-2020 season.
The victory over UDC sees Queens end a two-game skid over the Firebirds.
Match Recap
Both opened the scoring on their first shot attempt of the game before Griffin started a 12-4 run for the Knights from the 17:18 mark to the 12:35 mark for a 14-6 lead.
However, the Knights would go cold as the Firebirds responded with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes of play to take a 16-14 lead with 10:08 to go until halftime.
As a jumper from Griffin stopped the scoring drought for the Knights to tie the game at 16-16 at the 8:49 mark, UDC went on a 13-7 run as they took a 29-23 lead with 4:23 left in the half.
Continuing to keep the deficit in the single digits, a layup from rookie
Mike Mendez (Brentwood, N.Y.) would start a 9-5 run to end the final 3:43 minutes of the first half as Queens knotted the game at 34-34 heading into the locker rooms.
The Firebirds began the scoring in the second half with a 6-2 run to take a 40-36 lead with 17:20 to go in the game.
After a layup from Bentinck at the 16:04 mark brought Queens within two, 40-38, both sides would go into a shooting slump as they combined to go 0-5 from the field with three turnovers from the 15:45 mark to the 14:00 mark.
With the Knights still searching for a field goal, the Firebirds would extend their lead to nine points, 47-38 with a 7-0 run from the 13:42 mark to the 11:55 mark.
As Queens dug deep to search for answers, junior
Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) would help the Knights break their scoring drought as Queens started to cut into their deficit at the free throw line.
After another made three-pointer from the Firebirds saw them regain a nine-point edge of 50-41 with 9:18 to go in the game, Diamond would tally the first Knights field goal at the 8:37 mark, and first since the 16:04 mark of the second half as Queens started a comeback rally.
With UDC holding a 51-43 advantage at the 8:19 mark, Bentinck would go 1-of-2 at the line before sophomore
Eric Tynes (Springfield, MA.) capitalized with a jumper at the 7:58 mark to bring the Knights within five, 51-46.
As Queens turned on the defensive pressure, the Knights would continue to rally as Chester and Bentinck combined for a 5-0 run to tie the game at 51-51 with 4:48 to go.
After the Firebirds missed another field goal, junior
Zyeir Lawrence (Oneonta, N.Y.) would hit the dagger at the 3:56 mark with his first three-pointer of the game as Queens regained a 54-51 lead and first lead since the first half.
But keeping the defensive pressure going, the Knights would force another turnover before Bentinck knocked down back-to-back buckets for a seven-point lead of 58-51, a lead they would not surrender as Queens earned a hard-earned 62-56 ECC opener victory over the Firebirds.
By the Numbers
- Bentinck led all scorers with a career-best night with his second double-double of the year with 14 points, and 13 rebounds to go with one block and two steals.
- Diamond recorded 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Griffin tallied 11 points to go with five rebounds.
- Off the bench, Chester recorded eight points going 6-9 at the free throw line with three rebounds, and one block.
- As a team, the Knights shot 33.8% going 23-68 from the field, while the Firebirds shot 36.5% shooting 19-52 from the field.
- Queens held a 45-39 rebound margin with a 20-6 second-chance point margin.
- The Knights forced 18 UDC turnovers on the night.
Next Game
The Knights continue ECC play on Saturday (Dec. 2) afternoon as they travel to Staten Island, N.Y. with a matchup against the Dolphins of College of Staten Island. 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), X (Formerly Twitter) (@QCKnights), Queens College MBB (@QCKnights_MBB) and Instagram (qcknightsny), men's basketball (qcmensbball).
