Shamar Chester’s Career-High 31 Points Propels Queens to ECC Men's Basketball Championship First Round Victory over Molloy, 95-86

Recap courtesy of Queens College Sports Information FLUSHING, NY – Hosting their second East Coast Conference First Round Game in four seasons, the number three seed Queen College men's basketball team welcomed number six seed Molloy University Lions to Fitzgerald Gymnasium Wednesday evening.   Trailing by 10 points with 13 minutes to go in the game four Knights led the way by scoring in double figures with senior guard Shamar Chester (Queens, N.Y.) playing in the final home game of his Knights career with a career-best 31 points, senior forward Damiri Lindo (Oakland, CA.) 23 points, junior guard Eric Tynes (Springfield, MA.) 15 points and senior guard Nasan Ayala (LeFrak City, N.Y.) with 13 points as Queens rallied to defeat Molloy to the final score of 95-86 and advance to the ECC Semi-Finals.   With the victory head coach Matt Collier and the Knights improved to 13-16 overall and earned their first postseason victory since the 2010-2011 season when they defeated Dowling College 77-68. GAME RECAP It was a slow start to the game as both sides combined for nine points with the Knights trailing 5-4 by the under-16 media timeout at the 15:46 mark.   Out of the timeout, a layup from Lindo would put Queens 6-5 before a four-point play from Lions Rob Matos put the visitors up 9-6 at the 14:54 mark.   But the Knights led by Lindo and Chester would continue to keep the game within one possession before a three-pointer from Chester tied the game at 15-15 with 12:07 left in the first half.   As the Lions put together two quick buckets to take a 19-15 lead with 11:18 to go, a three-pointer from Tynes would start a 13-2 run as Queens took a 28-21 advantage by the 7:41 mark.   With the Knights leading 30-25 after an Ayala layup at the 6:13 mark, the Lions responded with a 7-0 run to take a 34-30 lead. As back-to-back three-pointers from Matos put Molloy by seven, 40-33 with 2:42 to go, Queens would take a timeout and stop the visitors' momentum.   The Knights would respond out of the timeout as they ended the final 2:28 of the first half on a 7-5 run but would trail by five, 45-40 heading into the locker rooms at halftime.   Molloy opened the second half shooting 50.0% from the field as they took a 56-47 lead by the under-16 media out.   By the 13:32 mark, the Knights found themselves by 10, 61-51 before the Queens native Chester took over recording seven points in a 14-4 run from the 12:47 mark to the 9:40 mark as the Knights tied the game 65-65 with a Tynes three-pointer.   Starting to shift momentum, Queens on the next possession would force a turnover before Tynes connected with his second deep shot of the half to put the Knights up 68-65 by the 8:56 mark.   Looking to extend the run, Lindo would record six straight points as Queens kept their lead intact.   However, the Lions would not go away quietly as they were able to cut the home side's advantage down to one, 74-73 by the 5:15 mark before Chester started a final run of 15-5 to take the game away from the Lions as the senior recorded eight points while the duo of Tynes and Lindo combined for seven points as Queens now had their largest lead of the game of 11 points, 89-78 by the 1:58 mark.   Over the final 1:50 of the game, the Knights would hold the Lions to 2-of-6 from the field while icing the game at the charity stripe to earn the first postseason victory since the 2010-11 season and advance to Saturday's semifinal game with a 95-86 victory.   BY THE NUMBERS Chester led the way by tying a career-best 31 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field, 5-of-7 from three-pointer lad, and tallied six rebounds, five assists, and one steal in his final home game inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium. Lindo recorded 23 points with 11-of-12 from the charity stripe to go with four rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Tynes recorded 15 points with five made three-pointers in 18 minutes off the bench. Ayala notched 13 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the victory. Junior center Omari Byrd (Ypsilanti, MI.) tallied six points on 3-of-4 shooting to go with eight rebounds and one block. Senior center Omar Nkonde (Harlem, N.Y.) recorded three points, five rebounds, and three key blocks in the victory. In the second half, the Knights shot 58.6% from the field including 6-of-8 from downtown and 15-of-20 from the charity stripe to erase an 11-point deficit into a victory. NEXT TIP-OFF Queens will now head to Amherst, N.Y. as they prepare to match up against five-time defending ECC Champions St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans on Saturday, Mar. 8 for a spot in the ECC Championship game on the line. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. inside Lumsden Gymnasium.
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