SPARKILL, N.Y. – Continuing their road stand Saturday afternoon in Sparkill, the guard duo of junior
Jade Tse (Queens, N.Y.) and senior
Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) combined for 29 points to pace the Queens College men's basketball team offense against defending East Coast Conference champions St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans inside Aquinas Hall.
In a game that featured six lead changes and three ties and entering the second half tied 33-33, a sluggish second half would hurt the visitors as Queens fell to the final score of 80-59.
The Knights move to 7-11 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
GAME RECAP
Queens opened the game with a 7-2 run before STAC responded with a 6-0 run to take an 8-7 lead by the 14:54 mark.
A three-pointer from Chester would break Queens' drought at the 14:04 mark to take a 10-8 lead before the Spartans answered with a 12-2 run to take a 20-12 lead by the 10:25 mark.
Tse would break Queens' scoreless drought at the 8:55 mark as the junior guard went on a personal run of 9-2 to get the Knights within one 22-21 with 7:11 to go in the first half.
Spartans responded with five straight points before Chester and senior forward
Damiri Lindo (Oakland, CA.) got the Knights within one, 27-26 at the 4:30 mark.
The trio of senior center
Omar Nkonde (Harlem, N.Y.), Lindo, and senior guard
Nasan Ayala (LeFrak City, N.Y.) would help Queens end the first half on a 7-4 run to send both teams into the locker rooms with the game tied at 33-33.
The home side opened the second half by scoring the first bucket before Tse responded to tie the game once again at 35-35.
But the Spartans would put together a 6-0 run to take a 41-35 lead before the duo of Chester and junior forward
Jaden Pena (Brooklyn, N.Y.) got the Knights within three, 43-40 with 16:01 left in the contest.
The Knights would continue to go back and forth against the Spartans as they kept the deficit to two points, 49-47 by the 12:56 mark.
But second half shooting struggles would hurt the Knights as the home side built an 11-1 run to take a 60-48 lead by the 9:10 mark and never looked back to defeat Queens Saturday afternoon.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Tse led all scorers with a game-high 17 points to go with two rebounds and one steal.
- Chester recorded 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal in the contest.
- Lindo recorded nine points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
NEXT TIP-OFF
Queens will now open a two-game ECC homestand beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 22 as they welcome the Firebirds of the University of the District of Columbia to town. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m. The Firebirds enter the week with an overall record of 3-11, 1-5 in ECC play, and are coming off a 77-70 loss to Roberts Wesleyan.
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