FLUSHING, N.Y. – Trailing by 11 points with 8:09 left in the second half, the Queens College men's basketball team would outscore the visiting Wildcats of Wilmington University 24-13 to force overtime Wednesday evening but the comeback victory would fall short as the Knights fell 92-83 inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium to conclude their four-game homestand.
Six players recorded double-figures led by a pair of double-doubles from junior
Zyeir Lawrence (Oneonta, N.Y.) who tallied his first double-double in a Knights uniform with a career-best 17 points and 10 rebounds, while senior
Malik Bentinck (Queens, N.Y) tallied his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds to power the offense in the non-conference contest.
Match Recap
Both teams traded buckets in the early going but with the score at 5-5, the Wildcats would go on a 11-1 run as they took a 16-6 lead with 14:00 to go in the first half.
Queens would respond with an 8-4 run as Lawrence tallied five points in the run as the Knights cut their deficit down to six, 20-14 with 11:31 left in the first half.
Both sides would trade buckets for the remainder of the half but with the Wildcats shooting over 55.0% in the first compared to the Knights 34.0%, the visitors would take a nine point lead of 45-36 heading to halftime.
Wilmington opened the second half with a 12-7 run as they took a 14-point lead of 57-43 with 16:09 to go forcing a Knights timeout.
With the Knights unable to find their offensive rhythm, Queens would use the charity stripe to cut their deficit down to 10 points.
After a jumper from the Wildcats extended the lead back to 12 points, 59-47 with 13:20 to go, Queens would use a 10-2 run from the 12:53 mark to the 10:25 mark to trim their deficit down to four points, 61-57.
But another 7-0 run by the Wildcats would extend their lead to 11 points, 68-57 with 8:09 to go before junior
Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) hit a three-pointer to stop the scoring drought for Queens and start a comeback rally.
With the Wildcats leading by eight, 70-62, and 6:13 to go, Lawrence and senior
Sunnie Diamond (Atlanta, GA) would start a 7-0 run as Queens got within one, 70-69 with 4:30 to go in the second half.
But the Wildcats would use a 5-0 run as Queens committed a turnover and a foul to extend their lead back to six, 75-69 with 3:54 to go in regulation.
However, the Knights would not go down without a fight as they used a 10-6 run from the 3:26 mark to the :45 second mark to make it an one-possession game to the score of 81-79.
As the Wildcats missed a three-pointer at the :21 second mark, Diamond would find Bentick in the paint for the Queens native to tie the game at 81-81 with :1.6 seconds remaining in the game before the defense prevented the game-winning shot to force their fourth overtime game of the year and second in a row.
Playing in their second overtime game in a row, the Knights would be held to one field goal as Queens were defeated to the final score of 92-83 in the non-conference contest Wednesday evening.
By the Numbers
- Lawrence paced the offense with his first career double-double with a team-high 17 points (7-of-16 FG, 3-of-3 FT) and 10 rebounds to go with three assists and two steals.
- Bentick tallied his fourth double-double of the year with 15 points, a team-high 14 rebounds, and two blocks.
- Diamond tallied 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
- Chester recorded 13 points, and six rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
- The junior duo of Jayden Seraphin (Lakeview, N.Y.) and Dante Griffin (Utica, N.Y.) combined for 21 points and 11 rebounds.
- As a team, the Knights were held to 37.7% going 29-of-77 from the field, while the Wildcats shot 52.9% on 37-of-70 shooting.
- Queens held a 51-37 rebounds margin with a 26-8 edge on second-chance points.
- Free throw shooting would hurt the Knights as they went 23-of-32 at the line on 71.9% shooting, while the Wildcats shot 70.0% on 14-of-20 at the charity stripe.
Next Game
The Knights hit the road for the first time since December 2
nd as they travel to Albany, N.Y. on Sunday (Dec. 17) afternoon with a match-up against the Golden Knights of The College of Saint Rose in non-conference play. Tip-off is set for 3:30 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).
