ROCHESTER, N.Y. – In their lone East Coast Conference contest of the week, the Queens College men's basketball team traveled to face the Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks inside the Voller Athletic Center Sunday afternoon.
Three Knights finished in double figures, led by a career-high 23 points from sophomore guard
Lleyton Fried (Harrisburg, PA). Senior forward
Tahj-Malik Campbell (Philadelphia, PA) notched 15 points, and junior guard
Johnny Jones (Bronx, N.Y.) tallied 11 points.
Queens battled back from an early first-half deficit to claim a five-point lead early in the second half, but a decisive 20-2 Redhawks run shifted the momentum as Queens fell short of completing the series sweep to the final score of 80-62.
GAME RECAP
The Knights endured a slow start, falling behind 21-7 at the 11:38 mark of the opening half.
Trailing by 14, Queens began to settle in offensively, trimming the deficit to nine, 25-16, with 7:16 remaining.
Roberts Wesleyan later pushed its lead back to 15, 33-18, but Queens responded with a strong closing stretch.
Sparked by Fried and Campbell, the Knights ended the half on an 11-0 run to cut the margin to four, 33-29, heading into the break.
Queens carried that momentum into the second half, as a Jones three-pointer at 19:27 ignited a 13-4 burst. The run gave the Knights a 42-37 advantage and forced a Roberts Wesleyan timeout at the 16:27 mark.
Out of the timeout, the Redhawks regained control. Roberts Wesleyan used a 20-2 run over the next five minutes to build a 57-44 lead.
Continuing to battle back, five straight points from Jones and a layup from Fried helped Queens outscore Redhawks 7-2 as they were able to cut their deficit down to eight, 59-51, with 9:17 to play.
The Knights later cut the deficit to seven, 66-59, with 5:18 remaining, but the Redhawks closed the game on a 14-3 run to defeat Queens to the final score of 80-62 Sunday afternoon.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Fried recorded a career-best 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting to go with one steal and one rebound.
- Campbell tallied 15 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.
- Jones recorded 11 points, three rebounds, two steals, and one assist.
- Rookie forward Henri Mennander (Helsinki, Finland) notched eight points, nine rebounds, and one block.
NEXT GAME
The Knights return home on Wednesday, February 18, as they welcome Mercy University Mavericks to Fitzgerald Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 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 Athletics Main Account (@QCKnights), Queens College MBB (QCKnightsMBB) and Instagram (qcknightsny), men's basketball (qcmensbball).
