FLUSHING, N.Y. – Four different Knights registered in double figures as the Queens College men's basketball team welcomed regionally-ranked #4 Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College to Flushing in non-conference play.
In a high-scoring game that saw eight ties and 13 lead changes, the Knights were paced by senior
Sunnie Diamond's (Atlanta, GA) game-and-team-high 26 points, while junior
Zyeir Lawrence (Oneonta, N.Y.) matched a career-best 17 points and the duo of junior
Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) and senior
Malik Bentinck (Queens, N.Y.) recorded 17 points and 16 points respectively as Queens were defeated to the final score of 94-90 inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
Match Recap
The Knights opened the game with a 6-0 run as Chester and junior
Jayden Seraphin (Lakeview, N.Y.) connected from deep before the Purple Knights opened their account. With the score tied at 8-8, Lawrence and Bentinck put the Knights on a 6-3 run as Queens took a 14-11 lead with 15:08 to go.
Saint Michael's would respond with a 7-2 run as they took an 18-16 lead before a jumper from Lawrence stopped the scoring drought for Queens to knot the game at 18-18 with 12:47 to go.
Both sides would continue to trade buckets, but with the Knights leading 22-21, the visitors went on a 13-2 run to take a 34-24 lead with 7:09 to go in the first half.
A three-pointer from Chester would stop the scoring drought for Queens as the Knights opened a 14-4 run from the 6:52 mark to the 4:12 mark to knot the game at 38-38.
With both teams shooting with a hot hand, they would continue to trade buckets before Diamond beat the buzzer as the Knights went into halftime trailing by one, 48-47.
Using their first-half momentum, the Knights opened the second half of the game on a 9-0 run as they took a 56-48 lead with 17:27 to go in the game. The Knights would stretch their lead into double figures as they took a 13-point edge of 63-50 with 15:17 left in the game.
But turnovers and foul trouble would hurt the Knights as the visitors rallied back using the charity stripe to cut into the home side advantage with a 17-7 run as a 13-point lead was cut down to 70-67 with 10:30 to go.
Queens would continue to stay in front as they answered each Purple Knights bucket.
But once again with the clock stopped and the visitors continuing to knock down their free throws, the score would be tied at 83-83 with 3:37 to go.
For the final 2:21 minutes, both sides would trade lead with Lawrence and Bentinck responding each time to put the Knights up by one on both occasions.
As Bentinck's layup put the Knights up 88-87 with 1:33 to go, the Purple Knights would end the game on a 7-2 run to steal the non-conference victory to the final score of 94-90.
By the Numbers
- Diamond paced the Knights with a game-and-team-high 26 points (9-of-16 FG, 5-of-6 3PT, 3-of-3 FT) to go with four rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block.
- Lawrence tied a career-high 17 points (8-of-11 FG) to go with seven rebounds.
- It would all-round performance for Chester who tallied 17 points (7-of-16 FG, 3-of-6 3PT) to go seven rebounds and a career-best seven assists, and two steals.
- Bentinick recorded his fifth double-double of the year with 16 points (6-of-13 FG, 1-of-2 3PT, 3-of-6 FT), 10 rebounds, and two blocks.
- As a team, the Knights shot 47.9% going 35-of-73 from the field, while the Purple Knights shot 44.9% on 31-of-69 shooting.
- As a team, the Knights shot a season-best 57.9% from deep going 11-of-19.
- Queens held a 43-36 rebounds margin.
- Saint Michael's tallied 22 points on 17 Queens turnovers
Next Game
The Knights open 2024 with a two-game road trip on Saturday (Jan. 6) afternoon against the Lions of Georgian Court University in Lakewood, N.J. in non-conference play. Tip-off set for 12:00 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).
