FLUSHING, N.Y. – With the race for an East Coast Conference postseason berth neck to neck, the Queens College men's basketball team bounced back with a crucial 80-65 victory over the Mercy University Mavericks Wednesday evening inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
The senior trio of guard
Nasan Ayala (LeFrak City, N.Y.), forward
Damiri Lindo (Oakland, CA.), and
Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) paced the offense as they combined for 53 points as the Knights built on their first-half advantage before icing the game at the free throw line to earn the series split against the Mavericks.
The Knights improve to 10-15 overall and 6-7 in ECC play. Wednesday's victory earned Queens a key series split and moved them back to third place heading into their final three games of the regular season.
GAME RECAP
The opening seven minutes of the game would see one tie and one lead change. With the game tied at 11-11 at the 13:34 mark a layup from Ayala at the 12:44 mark would start a 16-3 run with Lindo scoring eight points in the run as Queens took a 27-14 lead by the 8:06 mark.
The Mavericks would cut the lead down to five points, 27-22 by the 6:05 mark before the Knights responded with a 10-0 run from the 5:46 mark to the 2:54 to extend their lead back to 13 points, 37-24.
However, Mercy would end the final 2:41 minutes of play on a 6-2 run but the Knights would take a nine-point edge of 39-30 into the locker rooms.
The Knights would use the deep shot in the opening 20 minutes of play to keep their advantage in hand as they shot 53.8% from long distance with seven made three-pointers.
The Mavericks opened the second half scoring to get within six, 39-33 by the 19:08 mark but behind a 22-4 run from the 18:35 mark to the 9:14 mark, the Knights would blow open the game as they took their largest lead of the game of 24 points to the score of 61-37. Ayala would lead the charge with nine points in the run.
However, the visitors would not go away without a fight as they rallied back to get within single digits of eight points, 66-58 by the 2:17 mark.
But the Knights would ensure they would earn the key victory as they converted 14-of-16 free throws over the final 1:55 minutes of play to clinch their sixth ECC victory of the year.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Ayala recorded his fourth 20-point game of the year with a team-high 22 points of 6-of-9 shooting, 8-of-11 from free throws to go with nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and one steal.
- Lindo recorded 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting with three made three-pointers, and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe to go with seven rebounds, two steals, and one assist.
- With his fifth point in the first half, Lindo recorded his 1000th total career point.
- Chester recorded 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting to go with three made three-pointers, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
NEXT TIP-OFF
The Knights conclude their home portion on their 24-25 schedule on Saturday, Feb. 22 as the St Thomas Aquinas College Spartans come to town. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.
Before tipoff, the Knights will honor their graduating seniors in their annual Senior Day Ceremony.
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).
