BUFFALO, N.Y. – In a back-and-forth affair that saw nine ties and 10 lead changes, the Queens College men's basketball team kept their composure to earn a thrilling East Coast Conference victory over the Saints of D'Youville University Friday evening inside the College Center Gym.
Led by game-high 20 points from junior
Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) who tallied 18 points in the second half, while sophomore
Eric Tynes (Springfield, MA.) recorded 18 points, while senior
Malik Bentinck (Queens, N.Y.) registered his ninth double-double of the year with 12 points and 13 rebounds and junior
Jayden Seraphin (Lakeview, N.Y.) notched 10 points to help the Knights earn an 80-72 victory over the Saints.
With the win, Queens improved their record to 11-7 overall, and 5-2 in conference play, and extended their win streak to a season-high five games. The win over the Saints earns Queens their second straight series split and extends the All-Time series to 4-2 in favor of the Knights.
The five-game win streak is the highest in a single season since the 2010-11 season.
Match Recap
Queens opened the scoring on a Chester layup before the home side went on 8-0 run to take an 8-2 lead. A second chance attempt at the 16:57 mark from junior
Zyeir Lawrence (Oneonta, N.Y.) would break the scoreless drought for Queens.
The Knights would attempt to get into a scoring rhythm as Bentinck and junior
Javier Contreras (Valley Stream, N.Y.) got them within two, 10-8 before the first media timeout.
As a Bentinck jumper got the Knights within three, 13-10, the Saints took advantage of turnovers to take a 17-10 lead before Tynes knocked down a rare four-point play
(his second of the year) before a layup from junior
Manny Umoffia (Benin City, Nigeria) got Queens within one, 17-16 before the under 12 media timeout.
Out of the timeout, Tynes would continue the run with a layup at the Knights took an 18-17 lead at the 10:49 mark.
Queens would continue to keep the Saints scoreless for over 3:17 as the Knights put together an 11-0 run to take a 21-17 lead by the 9:38 mark.
The Saints would break their drought at the 9:24 mark on two made free throws, but the Knights would extend their run to 14-2 on Tynes's second three-pointer of the night at the 8:13 mark as the Knights took a 24-19 lead.
As the Knights continued to keep the Saints without a field since the 12:41 mark, back-to-back layups from Seraphin and Bentinck extended Queens' lead to 28-21 at the 6:23 mark.
The home side would together a 4-0 run as the Knights seven-point lead cut down to three before an Umoffia layup put the Knights back up by five, 32-27.
As the Knights went into a scoreless drought, the Saints would go on a 9-0 run to take a 36-33 lead at the 1:22 mark before junior
Omar Nkonde (Harlem, N.Y.) ended the first half on a personal 4-0 run over the final 1:07 as Queens took a slim 37-36 lead into the locker rooms at halftime.
The Saints opened the second half as the aggressor going on a 10-3 run to take a 46-40 lead before Chester responded with a layup to get the Knights within two, 46-42 with 17:18 to go.
As the Knights picked up their defensive intensity to hold D'Youville scoreless for over 2:43 minutes of play, Chester and Bentinck responded with a 5-0 run to reclaim a one-point lead of 47-46 before the under-16 media timeout.
Out of the timeout, D'Youville responded with a 5-0 run of their own to take a 51-47 lead at the 13:46 mark.
But as both teams committed a slew of turnovers over their next several possessions, Bentinck would break the scoreless drought for Queens at the 12:03 mark to get the Knights back within two, 51-49.
It would be a back-and-forth passage of play as both teams matched each other point for point as they went into the under-eight media timeout tied at 57-57.
The next three minutes of play would bring a scoring barrage with Chester and Tynes combing for 11 points with Tynes recording his second four-point play of the game. With the Knights leading 68-64, the Saints answered back with a 6-0 run to reclaim a two-point lead of 70-68 before a layup from Bentinck tied the game at 70-70 at the 3:43 mark before both teams went scoreless for a 1:15.
Taking advantage of second chance opportunities, a layup from Chester would put the Knights 72-70 with 2:26 to go as Queens took the lead for good.
After taking the two-point lead of 72-70, the Knights would end the game on an 8-2 run as Queens iced the game at the free throw line going 6-of-8 mixed in with an empathic dunk from Seraphin as Queens earned a key ECC victory to the final score of 80-72 Friday night.
By the Numbers
- Chester led the offense with a game-high 20 points (7-of-14 FG, 2-of-4 3PT, 4-of-5 FT) to go with five rebounds and two assists.
- The junior recorded 18 points (6-of-9 FG, 2-of-3 3PT, 4-of-5 FT) in the second half after two early fouls in the first half saw him play only 5:17 minutes of action.
- Tynes recorded 18 points (5-of-9 FG, 3-of-7 3PT, 5-of-5 FT) to go with three rebounds, two blocks, two assists, and one steal.
- Bentinck recorded his team-leading ninth double-double of the year with 12 points (6-of-12 FG) to go with 13 rebounds, one block, and one assist.
- Seraphin recorded 10 points (3-of-5 FG, 4-of-6 FT) to go with five rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal.
- Umoffia saw his double-digits streak come to a close as he recorded 8 points (2-of-4 FG) to go with six rebounds and matched a career-high three blocks for the fourth straight game.
- Contreras tallied five points (2-of-5 FG, 1-of-2 FT) to go with five rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
- As a team, the Knights shot 48.3% going 28-of-58 from the field, while the Saints were held to 34.7% on 26-of-75 shooting.
- Queens held a 49-34 rebounding margin.
- Queens shot 67.9% at the charity stripe going 19-of-29 at the line.
Next Game
The Knights conclude the Buffalo trip on Sunday (Jan. 28) afternoon with a stop in Amherst, N.Y. as they match up against the Wildcats of Daemen University. Tipoff set for 2:00 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).
