FLUSHING, N.Y. – In a game that saw six ties and 16 lead changes to go with a total of 45 fouls and four technical fouls, the Queens College men's basketball team rallied in the final five minutes of the game to defeat the visiting Redhawks of Roberts Wesleyan University in East Coast Conference play Friday evening inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
Led a career-high 21 points from sophomore
Eric Tynes (Springfield, MA.) and senior
Malik Bentinck's (Queens, N.Y.) eighth double-double with 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, while the junior duo of
Javier Contreras (Valley Stream, N.Y.) and
Manny Umoffia (Benin City, Nigeria) combined for 20 points to help the Knights earn an 87-76 victory over the Redhawks.
With the win, Queens improved their record to 10-7 overall, and 4-2 in conference play, and extended their win streak to a season-high four games. The Knights ended a three-game losing streak over the Redhawks to earn their first win since February 22, 2022.
The four-game win streak is the highest in a single season since the 2016-17 season when the Knights won four straight from January 14, 2017 to January 28, 2017 in head coach
Matt Collier's first season in charge.
Match Recap
It was a back-and-forth back game as both teams matched each other bucket for bucket and neither team able to build upon their one possession lead.
With the Knights trailing 21-20 with 8:31 to go in the first half, the Knights went on an 11-5 run from the 7:30 mark to the 4:26 mark to take a 31-26 lead.
The Redhawks would cut the home side advantage down to three points on two separate occasions before the Knights took a seven-point lead of 37-30 with 1:42 to go until halftime.
The visitors would end the first half on a 6-0 run, but Queens would take a 37-36 advantage heading into the locker rooms at halftime.
The Redhawks opened the second half with another 6-0 run to take a 42-37 lead with 18:11 left in the game.
Led by a personal run of 6-0 from Contreras, Queens would retake a slim lead of 43-42 to force a timeout from the Roberts Wesleyan bench.
But in a back-and-forth game, the Redhawks responded back as both teams exchanged leads.
With the Knights leading 46-44 with 15:54 to go, the Redhawks would go on an 11-1 run from the 15:38 mark to the 12:40 mark to take an eight-point lead of 55-47 as the Knights went on a three-minute drought.
A jumper from Umoffia would stop the drought as the Knights responded with a 5-0 run to go with a three-pointer from Tynes to bring the Knights within three, 55-52 at the 10:18 mark.
After a made three-pointer from the Redhawks extended the deficit back to six points for a 58-52 at the 9:53 mark, Queens answered back with a 9-3 run from the 9:51 mark to the 7:20 mark to tie the game at 61-61.
But the Redhawks would quickly answer back with a 7-2 run to take a 68-63 lead with 5:42 to go in the game.
With plenty of time left, a layup from Umoffia started an 11-0 run at the 5:22 mark with Bentinck tallying five straight points as Queens took the lead for good with a 74-68 advantage with 3:56 left in the game.
As the Redhawks cut the lead back to four points, 74-70 at the 3:32 mark, Queens would put the game away with a 10-4 run from the 3:05 mark to the 1:05 to take an 84-74 lead before three made free throws iced the game as Queens earned an 87-76 victory and extended their win streak to four games.
The Knights would end the final 5:22 of the game on a 24-8 run as they held the Redhawks to 3-of-10 from the field with two turnovers to earn the victory.
By the Numbers
- Tynes led the offense with a career-best 21 points (7-of-12 FG, 5-of-9 3PT, 2-of-2 FT) to go with three rebounds.
- Five made three-pointers are a career-best for the sophomore.
- Bentinck recorded his team-leading eighth double-double of the year with 17 points (6-of-10 FG, 5-of-10 FT) to go with a career-best 16 rebounds, three blocks, and one steal.
- For the fourth straight game, Umoffia tallied in double-digits with 10 points (5-of-8 FG) to go with six rebounds and matched a career-high three blocks for the third straight game.
- It would be an excellent second half for Contreras who tallied a season-high 10 points (2-of-3 FG, 1-of-1 3PT, 5-of-5 FT) to go with four assists, two steals, and two rebounds.
- Junior Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) saw a streak of nine straight games of double-digit scoring efforts come to a close as the Queens native tallied nine points, eight assists, five rebounds, and three steals in the winning effort.
- As a team, the Knights shot 48.4% going 30-of-62 from the field, while the Redhawks were held to 39.4% on 28-of-71 shooting.
- Queens held a 48-35 rebounds margin.
- Queens shot 57.1% at the charity stripe going 20-of-35 at the line.
Next Game
The Knights travel to Princess Anne, MD for an exhibition game on Monday (Jan. 22) evening as they match up against Division 1 Hawks of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. 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).
