FLUSHING, N.Y. – It would be a tale of two halves for the Queens College men's basketball team as they welcomed the Lions of Molloy University to Fitzgerald Gymnasium in East Coast Conference play Wednesday evening.
Junior guard
Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) continued his career year with a career-high 31 points including 21 points in the second half while the junior duo of
Jayden Seraphin (Lakeview, N.Y.) and
Manny Umoffia (Benin City, Nigeria) combined for 28 points but the second half comeback rally would fall short as the Knights fell to the final score of 96-85 to conclude their three-game homestand.
Match Recap
The opening minutes of the first half would see one tie and three lead changes as Queens held a slim edge of 7-6 with 16:14 to go.
But that would be the closest Queens would come in the first half of holding a lead as they committed seven turnovers and shot 32.2% from the field, while the Lions shot 42.8% from the field with five made three-pointers as the visitors took a 25-point advantage of 48-23 into the locker rooms at halftime.
The second half would see the Knights come out with more energy as they shot 58.1% from the field with Chester and Seraphin combining for 36 points as the Knights outscored the Lions 62-48.
The Knights would cut a deficit as big as 30 points down to 12 points but the slow start in the first half would hurt the Knights' comeback rally as the Lions earned a season series split with both sides winning on the road.
By the Numbers
- Chester led the offense recording a game-and-career high 31 points (11-of-25 FG, 3-of-9 3PT, 6-of-10 FT) to go with six assists, five steals, and two rebounds.
- The 11 made field goals, five steals were the two categories Chester notched as career-highs on the evening.
- Seraphin notched 15 points (7-of-12 FG, 1-of-3 FT) to go with three rebounds, one block and one steal.
- Umoffia recorded 13 points (6-of-8 FG, 1-of-4 FT) with four rebounds and two blocks.
- Junior Omar Nkonde (Harlem, N.Y.) notched nine points (4-of-6 FG, 1-of-2 FT) to go with 10 rebounds and three blocks.
- Junior Zyeir Lawrence (Oneonta, N.Y.) notched seven points, seven rebounds, a career-best six blocks, three assists, and one steal on the night.
- The six blocks tied the most blocks in a single game since Tyler Carey (Bay Shore, N.Y.) recorded six blocks against D'Youville on January 27, 2023.
- The six blocks are tied for second most in a single game.
- As a team, the Knights shot 47.3% going 35-of-74 from the field, while the Lions were held to 42.9% on 33-of-77 shooting.
- Molloy held a 49-40 rebounding margin.
- In the first half Queens were held to 32.2% from the field with 10 made field goals.
- The Lions shot 88.9% from the charity stripe going 24-of-27.
- For the third time in 2024, the Knights recorded double-digit blocks with 13 total rejections with nine coming in the second half.
Next Game
The Knights open a four-game road stand beginning on Friday (Feb. 16) evening in Rochester, N.Y. as they match up against Redhawks of Roberts Wesleyan University. Tip-off set for 8:00 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).
