By Domenico Montanaro
This time the Knights buried themselves in the second half against Merrimack Saturday night, falling 84-80 at Fitzgerald Gymnasium for Queens' fourth consecutive loss.
The Knights' only consolation – they don't have to play again until Jan. 6.
“I told them I want to start new,” Queens coach Kyrk Peponakis said, “but I don't want us to act like nothing has happened. I want them to understand what it means to be successful. We all want to be good, but being good is hard. It takes a long, sustained commitment and attitude and sometimes we wane from that.”
Against Merrimack, Queens had its chances.
After the Knights (4-5, 2-3 NYCAC) overcame an 8-point deficit to knot the score at 44 early in the second half, Queens went down by 17 in the second half after the Warriors went on a 21-4 spurt over the next five minutes on the back (and slingshot arm) of Matt Van Leeuwen.
Van Leeuwen had a game-high 35 points, including 11 points during the spurt that put Merrimack (3-5) up for good. The Warriors' senior hit 4-of-9 from three-point range and sank critical free throws down the stretch, something the Knights did not do.
“We're not coming out playing hard,” said senior Steve Sikiric. “We're just playing catch up. Maybe it's in our heads.”
They had their chances.
Over chants of “Queens, don't you want it?” and “C'mon Queens look alive out there,” the Knights did seem to come alive with a frenzied full-court press. They slowly chipped away at the deficit with a 16-5 run of their own and eventually cut the lead to five.
That, however, proved to be just a tease for the spectators, as Queens would get no closer, and Merrimack was practically back on the bus to Massachusetts.
The Knights missed free throw after free throw in the final five minutes, shooting a dismal 19-of-33 for the game (57.6 percent). With less than three minutes to go, Queens failed to capitalize on five consecutive turnovers caused by the press. It missed layups, three pointers and, most importantly, was outshot at the line.
“We make four steals and get one point out it,” Peponakis said. “That hurts.”
They had their chances.
“As bad as we played, we were still in the game,” Sikiric said. “If we had just made our free throws, we could have won it.”
The Knights were playing catch-up from the start. They scored the first basket of the game, then were behind for the majority of the first half until a Sikiric floater in the lane put Queens up 26-24 with 5:34 left in the half.
But the lead was short lived.
Merrimack called timeout to stop the 6-0 run and they came out shooting, catching the Knights on their heels.
Van Leeuwan scored seven of the Warriors next nine points, and with more than three minutes to go in the half Sikiric went to the bench with his third foul.
Merrimack went into the half with its largest lead of the game, eight points, 38-30.
Sikiric and the Knights seemed to play inspired to start the second half, determined to overcome the eight-point hole. Sikiric was more aggressive as he slashed to the hoop and dished assists. Phil Lyons drew fouls and hit key baskets and Anthony Washington converted down low.
Queens overcame the deficit and tied the game 44-44, but that would be the last time the Knights would share the lead.
Washington finished with a team-high 16 points and seven rebounds, Lyons had 13 points and five assists and Sikiric chipped in 12 points, six boards and four assists.
“We should have never been in that position,” Washington said. “Nobody really knows what to do to get out of this slump. That's why these five to six days we're going to have off is going to be really good for us. It'll give us a chance to check ourselves and realize what this is all about. We're a team and we have to have the same attitude day in and day out. Practice will play into the games and sometimes in practice we don't always go hard.
Washington added that Queens' attitude is evident to opposing teams.
“[Other teams] think, 'Just play with them and eventually they're going to roll over.' And that's not a good rep to have at all.”
That's not a good rep, but….they had their chances.
