FLUSHING, N.Y. – Continuing non-conference play with an early morning tipoff, the Queens College men's basketball team welcomed the Lions of Georgian Court University to Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
Four Knights led the offense with senior guard
Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) recording 18 points, senior forward
Jayden Seraphin (Lakeview, N.Y.) 15 points, senior center
Omar Nkonde (Harlem, N.Y.) 13 points, and senior guard
Nasan Ayala (LeFrak City, N.Y.) notching 11 points, however, the Knights second half rally would fall short as they dropped the non-conference contest to the final score of 72-67 Sunday afternoon.
GAME RECAP
Queens jumped ahead to the score of 5-0 behind a jumper from Seraphin and a three-pointer from Chester by the 19:05 mark. However, the Knights would go into a scoring slump over the next five minutes of play, while the Lions tallied a 9-0 run to take a 9-5 lead by the 14:21 mark.
The Knights would break the scoring drought at the 14:03 mark behind a Nkonde layup as Queens went on a 6-3 run to go with a jumper from junior guard
Jade Tse (Queens, N.Y.) and a layup from Ayala by the 11:46 mark to get within one, 12-11.
With Queens unable to find consistent scoring, it would be visitors who answered back with a 5-0 run to take a 17-11 lead by the 8:26 mark.
A Lions technical foul at the 8:23 mark would spark a 10-0 run for the Knights with Seraphin recording six points as Queens took a 21-17 lead by the 4:11 mark.
As both teams traded buckets over the next two minutes of play and the home side holding onto a one-point lead of 25-24 at the 1:51 mark behind a Seraphin three-pointer, it would be the Lions who finished the final 1:43 of the first half on a 6-2 run including a tip-in just before the clock expired to take a three-point lead of 30-27 at halftime.
The second half of play would be a game of various runs from both teams which began with the Lions beginning with a 12-1 run as they took a 14-point lead of 42-28 at the 17:46 mark.
A layup from Tse at the 17:37 mark would get Queens their first field goal of the second half as the Knights answered with a 7-0 run to get within seven, 42-35 by the 16:01 mark.
Georgian Court staying hot from long distance would extend their advantage back to double-digits of 13, 52-39 before Queens got into a rhythm.
Trailing by 13, with still 10 minutes left in the game, a steal from rookie
Tyler Michel (Cambria Heights, N.Y.) would spark a 15-4 run from the 10:06 mark to the 4:47 mark with Chester recording 10 points in the run as the Knights were able to cut their deficit down to two points, 56-52.
However, the Knights' second-half comeback would fall short as the Lions responded with a 6-0 run before sealing the game at the free throw line to defeat Queens to the final score of 72-67 Sunday afternoon.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Chester recorded a season-and-team-high 18 points, six rebounds, and two steals in his first start of the year.
- Seraphin recorded 15 points, a team-high four steals, and three rebounds.
- Nkonde notched a near double-double with a career-high 13 points to go with nine rebounds and two blocks.
- Ayala tallied 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
- Michel tallied two points and tied a career-high effort with five assists and two steals.
- As a team Queens shot 24-of-50 from the field (48.0%), 5-of-16 from distance (31.3%), and 14-of-21 at the free throw line (66.7%).
NEXT TIP-OFF
The Knights travel to Colchester, VT for a non-conference tilt on Tuesday, Dec. 3 against the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College. Tip-off is 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).
