FLUSHING, N.Y. – On Saturday afternoon, the Queens College men's basketball team concluded the 2022-2023 season against the visiting Mavericks of Mercy College inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium in East Coast Conference action.
Before tip-off, head coach
Matt Collier and the Knights honored their graduating seniors
William Ellis (Valley Stream, N.Y.) and
Tyler Carey (Bay Shore, N.Y.) in their annual Senior Day Ceremony.
Four Knights registered in double figures led by a career-high 34 points from sophomore
Sunnie Diamond (Hiram, GA), while Carey recorded 18 points, sophomore
Tyron Wright (Camby, IN) 17 points, and Ellis 12 points, Queens used a strong second half to defeat the Mavericks 99-82 to end their season with a victory.
With Saturday's victory, Queens earned their first series sweep over the Mavericks since the 2017-18 season.
Game Recap
It was a back-and-forth game in the first half as both sides exchanged buckets. After the Mavericks took a 13-10 lead with 13:36 left, Wright and Diamond would lead the way on an 11-0 run from 13:14 to 11:10 as Queens took a 21-13 lead to jump ahead by eight.
But the Mavericks would respond with a run of their own as they tallied a 16-6 run to take a 29-27 lead with 3:48 left in the first half.
The first half saw six lead changes and eight ties but after the Mavericks tallied two quick buckets to take a 36-34 lead with 32 seconds until halftime, Diamond would beat the first-half buzzer as he gave Queens a slim lead of 37-36 heading into the locker rooms.
The second half would be another back-and-forth affair as the teams traded 10 lead changes and three ties as neither side led by as much as three in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
With the Mavericks looking to play senior day spoils as they led 63-61 lead with 9:45 to go, sophomore
Shamar Chester's (Queens, N.Y.) three-pointer at the 9:24 mark would give Queens the final lead exchange as they took a 64-63 lead.
Chester's three would start a 15-4 run from the 9:24 mark to the 6:39 mark as Queens took a 76-67 lead and never looked back.
The Knights would end the final 9:24 of play on a 38-19 run as they sent their seniors on a victory note to the final score of 99-82 Saturday afternoon.
By The Numbers
- Diamond led the Knights' offense with a game-and-career high 34 points (12-20 FG, 7-9 3PT, 3-3 FT) to go with three rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
- Diamond 12 made field goals are a career-high for the first-year Knight.
- The sophomore recorded his first 30-point performance and the Knights' first since the 19-20 season.
- The 34 points are the fourth most in a single game since Bradd Wierzbicki tallied 34 against Saint Thomas Aquinas on January 31, 2007.
- The seven made three-pointers are the most in a single game since Tyrese Crosdale recorded eight against the District of Columbia on January 19, 2019.
- Carey concludes his collegiate career tallying 18 points (6-11 FG) to go with six rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and three steals.
- With his 3 blocks on Saturday, Carey owns the top two slots in Single Season Blocks with 78 and 50 in the program's record book.
- Carey tied the program record for 128 career blocks with Kevin Tassey (1992-1997).
- Wright tallied 17 points (6-11 FG) to go with a team-high eight rebounds and five assists.
- Ellis recorded 12 points (4-8 FG) to go with six rebounds, two assists and one steal to conclude his collegiate career.
- As a team, Queens shot 54.1% as they went 33-61 from the field while the Mavericks went 33-70 shooting on 44.4% from the field.
- Mavericks won the boards battle (39-33) as they held an 18-11 margin on second-chance points.
- The Knights forced 11 Mavericks to hold a 17-12 advantage on points off turnovers.
- At the free throw line, Queens went 20-28 shooting 71.4%, while Mercy went 10-17 on 58.8% at the line.
- The 99 points are the most scored in a single game since last season when Queens won 90-73 over Roberts Wesleyan on February 22, 2022.
- The 99 points are the most scored against the Mavericks since the Knights recorded a 93-73 victory on November 30, 2016.
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).
