FLUSHING, N.Y. – Opening East Coast Conference play to conclude the week, the Queens College men's basketball team welcomed the Lions of Molloy University to Fitzgerald Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.
Five Knights scored in double-figures led by double-doubles from junior forward
Jaden Pena (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with a career-high 25 points and 15 rebounds, senior guard
Nasan Ayala (LeFrak City, N.Y.) career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, while the trio of junior guard
Jade Tse (Queens, N.Y.) (16 points), senior forward
Damiri Lindo (Oakland, CA) (16 points) and senior
Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) (12 points) combined for 44 points as the Knights earned a 105-90 victory over the Lions.
With the victory the Knights earned their third victory of the year and opened ECC play on a strong note. For the second straight season Queens has opened ECC play on a winning note.
For the first since the 2019-2020 season Queens has tallied 100 points and first since January 26, 2020, when the Knights earned a 100-44 victory over Cheyney (PA). The 105 total points are the second most in program history, three short of tying the program record of 108 tallied against Mercy on February 17, 2010. It is the first time since January 14, 2017, that Queens has totaled 100 points since they recorded 100 against LIU Post. Also, it is the first time the Knights have totaled 100 or more points against Molloy surpassing the previous best of 98 tallied on February 19, 2005.
GAME RECAP
The visitors opened the game on a 7-0 run forcing an early timeout from Queens at the 18:42 mark.
Out of the timeout, Queens would quickly respond putting together a 10-0 run from the 18:37 mark to the 17:32 mark as the Knights took a 10-7 lead with Ayala notching five points.
But the Lions answered with two straight three-pointers to take a 13-10 lead at the 16:22 mark.
With Queens trailing 23-19 at the 11:59 mark, Pena and Chester would combine for an 8-2 run as the Knights took a 27-25 lead by the 10:23 mark.
Molloy would respond with a 4-0 run to take a 29-27 lead before a Tse three-pointer at the 9:06 mark helped Queens officially take the lead for good.
As the junior guard's three-pointer put Queens up 30-29, the Knights would put together an 11-4 run as they took a 38-33 lead by the 7:18 mark.
With both teams trading buckets, the Knights' offense would continue to match the Lions to keep their lead intact. With Molloy cutting Queens' advantage down to six, 47-41 at the 2:16 mark, the Knights would hold the Lions scoreless over the final two minutes of play while Lindo and rookie
Tyler Michel (Cambria Heights, N.Y.) helped Queens close out the half on a 5-0 run as the Knights took an 11-point lead of 52-41 into the locker rooms at halftime.
In a high-scoring second half with both teams shooting over 50.0%, the Lions would get within four, 61-57 by the 14:20 mark before Queens put together a 13-4 run from the 13:55 mark to the 11:12 mark for a 74-61 lead.
Having retaken a double-digit lead, Queens would never let their lead spill below 10 points over the final 10:34 minutes as they were led by Pena and Ayala combining for 24 of the final 31 points with Pena scoring 14 points and Ayala notching 10 points as the Knights opened ECC play on a winning note with a victory to the final score of 105-90.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Pena led the way with a career-high and his first double-double of the year with 25 points and 15 rebounds to go with one steal and one assist.
- Ayala recorded a career-high and his first double-double of the year with 23 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
- Tse notched 16 points, and a game-high five assists to go with one steal.
- Lindo recorded 16 points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
- Chester recorded 12 points, three rebounds, two steals, and one assist.
- Queens forced 12 Molloy turnovers into 17 points and recorded 22 second chance points with a 42-32 rebounding margin.
NEXT TIP-OFF
The Knights return to non-conference play on Tuesday, Dec. 10 as they travel to Caldwell, N.J. with a matchup against the Cougars of Caldwell University. 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).
