FLUSHING, N.Y. – Returning home for the first time in two weeks, seniors
Malik Bentinck (Queens, N.Y.) and
Sunnie Diamond (Atlanta, GA led the way with double-doubles as the Queens College men's basketball team defeated the Lightning of Goldey-Beacom College inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium in non-conference play.
Paced by Bentinck's seventh double-double with a career-high 20 points, game-high 13 rebounds, Diamond's third double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while the junior trio of
Jayden Seraphin (Lakeview, N.Y.), Manny Umoffia (Benin City, Nigeria) and
Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) registered in double-figures as the Knights defeated the Lightning to the final score of 80-68 Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Queens improved their record to 9-7 overall and extended their win streak to three games. Saturday's meeting was the first-ever in Flushing and just the second overall meeting between both sides as Queens earned their first victory over their regional foe to even the All-Time series to 1-1.
Match Recap
Queens opened the scoring as Bentinck and Seraphin put the Knights up 4-0 at the 18:52 mark before the Lightning responded with five straight points to take an early lead of 5-4.
With the Knights being held scoreless for over five minutes, the visitors extended their lead to four points, 8-4 before the Knights broke the drought at the 13:48 mark as Bentinck tallied back-to-back buckets to tie the game at 8-8 with 13:28 to go in the first half.
Both sides would trade buckets over the next several possessions as the first half saw two ties and four lead changes.
With the Knights trailing by one, 15-14 at the 11:45 mark, the Knights would together a 12-1 run from the 11:12 mark to the 7:08 mark with Diamond recording five points as Queens took a 26-16 lead, a 10-point lead, their largest of the first half.
The Lightning would respond by putting together a 6-0 run to cut Queens' lead down to four, 26-22 with 4:07 to go in the first half.
Sophomore
Eric Tynes (Springfield, MA.) would break a three-minute scoring drought as he made all three shots at the charity stripe to put the Knights back up by seven, 29-22 at the 3:50 mark.
However the Lightning would cut into Queens advantage with a 10-6 run to end the first half, but the Knights would take a slim lead of 35-32 into the locker room at halftime.
Seraphin and Chester opened the scoring to begin the second half as Queens went on a 9-4 run to extend their lead to eight points, 44-36 with 15:43 to go in the game.
Goldey-Beacom would tally a 9-0 run from the 14:53 mark to the 13:24 mark as they took an one-point lead of 45-44, their first lead since the 11:45 mark in the first half.
But the lead would be short-lived as Bentinck tallied back-to-back baskets before Diamond and Chester connected from deep as Queens put together a 10-0 run from the 13:03 mark to the 11:00 mark to take a nine-point lead of 54-45, a lead they would not surrender.
The Lightning would cut the lead down to five points, 54-49 with 9:58 to go before the Knights went on an 18-7 run from the 9:21 mark to the 2:48 mark as Queens took their largest lead of the game of 16, 72-56, with the trio of Bentinck, Umoffia, and Diamond combing for the 18 points in the run.
The Knights would close out the game without any further troubles as they extended their win streak to three games to earn the victory to the final score of 80-68 Saturday afternoon.
By the Numbers
- Bentinck led the way with his seventh double-double of the year with a career-best 20 points (7-of-14 FG, 6-of-10 FT) on 50% shooting to go with 13 rebounds, two blocks, and two assists.
- Diamond recorded his third double-double and his second near triple-double in a row with 14 points (4-of-17 FG, 3-of-5 3PT, 3-of-4 FT) to go with 12 rebounds (matching his career-best), seven assists, three blocks (matching a career-high) and two steals.
- Seraphin tallied a season-best 15 points (6-of-10 FG, 3-of-4 FT) on 60% shooting to go with five rebounds, two assists, and one block.
- For the third straight game, Umoffia tallied in double-digits with 12 points (6-of-10 FG) to go with seven rebounds and matched a career-high three blocks.
- Chester tallied 11 points (4-of-11 FG, 1-of-4 3PT, 2-of-5 FT) while matching a career-best nine rebounds, six assists, two blocks (matching a career-high), and one steal.
- While junior Zyeir Lawrence (Oneonta, N.Y.) put on a defensive clinic recording nine rebounds, three steals (matching a career-high), and two blocks.
- As a team, the Knights shot 40.8% going 29-of-71 from the field, while the Lightning were held to 35.7% on 25-of-70 shooting.
- Queens held a 59-40 rebounds margin as they totaled an 18-14 advantage on second chance points.
- The 59 rebounds are a season-high and tie the third-highest in a single game since Queens tallied 59 on February 2, 2019.
- Queens shot 63.0% at the charity stripe going 17-of-27 at the line.
- As a team, the Knights broke the program record for blocks in a single game with 15 blocks.
- The previous program best was 11 (2x) compiled on January 19, 2011 and January 31, 2011.
- The 15 blocks are a NCAA Team Season-High for the 2023-2024 season.
Next Game
The Knights conclude non-conference play on Tuesday (Jan. 16) evening as they travel to Philadelphia, PA with a matchup against the Tigers of Holy Family University Tipoff set for 7:00 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).
