FLUSHING, N.Y. – The Queens College men's basketball team closed out its regular season home slate Thursday evening, welcoming the College of Staten Island Dolphins to Fitzgerald Gymnasium in East Coast Conference play.
Four Knights scored in double figures, led by a season-high 18 points from senior forward
Jaden Pena (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Senior forward
Tahj-Malik Campbell (Philadelphia, PA) added 14 points, rookie
forward
Henri Mennander (Helsinki, Finland) tallied 11 points, and sophomore guard
Lleyton Fried (Harrisburg, PA) contributed 10 points.
In a must-win contest to keep their postseason hopes alive, a slow start proved costly as the Dolphins secured a 97-65 victory.
Prior to tip-off, head coach
Matt Collier and the program honored graduating seniors in forwards
Tahj-Malik Campbell (Philadelphia, PA) and
Jaden Pena (Brooklyn, N.Y.) in the team's annual Senior Day ceremony.
GAME RECAP
Queens struggled to find its rhythm early, shooting 33.3 percent from the field in the opening half while Staten Island connected at a 58.9 percent clip. The Dolphins built a commanding lead, sending the Knights into halftime trailing 56-25.
Staten Island extended its advantage to 60-25 early in the second half before Queens responded with its strongest stretch of the night.
The Knights used a 22-5 run over a five-minute span, highlighted by a combined 14 points from Campbell and Mennander to trim into the deficit.
During that stretch, Queens shot 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from the field, held the Dolphins to 2-of-9 shooting, and forced three turnovers.
Despite the second-half surge, the first-half deficit was too much to overcome as the loss eliminated Queens from postseason contention.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Pena paced the offense with 18 points to go along with three rebounds, one block, and one steal.
- Campbell finished with 14 points, six rebounds, three blocks, two assists, and a steal. Mennander narrowly missed a double-double, posting 11 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks.
- While Fried rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
NEXT GAME
The Knights conclude the regular season on the road Saturday, February 28, traveling to Washington, D.C., to face the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds in ECC action. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 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).
