BY MITCH ABRAMSON
Sikiric, a senior, who has been nursing a groin injury, and Hazel, who missed the entire season last year because of knee surgery and still deals with the lingering effects, shot a combined 8-of-12 from 3-point range and keyed a first half surge that helped the Knights defeat C.W. Post 89-59 at Fitzgerald Gymnasium in Flushing Saturday night.Queens College clinched its first playoff spot in the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament – which starts March 2 – in two years.”We were getting open looks,” Sikiric said. “They were playing us in a match-up zone, and somebody just seemed to be always open. This is the best 40 minutes that this team has played all season. It's been a while since I shot the ball like this.”Mired in a shooting slump, Sikiric, a 6-foot-5 forward from Maspeth, scored just one point in a 68-55 win against Adelphi on February 9 and missed all four of his 3-point attempts against New Haven four days earlier.Instead of hanging his head, Sikiric, the team's leading scorer with an 18.9 average, administered shot-therapy on himself, spending an extra two hours following practice last week heaving up jumpers, determined to find the mechanical glitch that was affecting his form. Sikiric scored 9 points in nearly a minute during an 11-0 run that gave Queens College a 24-14 first half lead. The former Archbishop Molloy standout finished with a team-high 17 points.Hazel, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard from Bayside HS, started burying 3-pointers the moment he came off the bench. Quick as a wink and streaky as a shooter, Hazel went 3-of-3 from behind the arc in the first half and converted an acrobatic layup that caused him to fall on his back and resulted in two free throws when it was ruled that he was fouled excessively.His marksmanship combined with three consecutive baskets from junior forward Shaun Bertin enabled the Knights to take a commanding 46-29 at the end of the first half. Queens (17-6, 15-5 NYCAC) shot 56.9 percent from the field and C.W. Post only 33.3 percent for the game.”The shots were dropping today,” said Hazel, who finished with 16 points and went 4-of-5 from 3-point range. “You just have to keep riding it when you're shooting like that. Today, the shots felt good every time the ball left my hand. It was just a good game for everyone.”For most of the game, C.W. Post (11-12, 11-9) appeared as if it had drank some sour milk. The Pioneers turned the ball over 22 times and their answer to Queens College's press was to have one of its talented guards dribble around aimlessly, his head tucked close to his chest, while teammates ran up court shouting for the ball. As was the case the first time they met in early December when the Knights won 70-65, C.W. Post, an exceptionally skilled and physically imposing team, lacked the fire and heart to defeat Queens College, currently second in the conference standings behind Adelphi.”The players are beginning to buy into what we're trying to get through to them,” Queens coach Kyrk Peponakis said. “They really battled today and played tough. I told them that they should be proud of this win.”The Pioneers boast one of the best guards in the conference in Justin Cole, who led all scorers with 22 points, and they outrebounded Queens College 42-34. But the school from Brookville, L.I. appeared listless and uninterested and head coach Tom Galeazzi, in his 24th season, watched helplessly as they trailed by as many as 35 points in the second half.”We weren't playing with any energy,” he said. “I don't know if this team is ever going to get on track. Our veteran players aren't stepping up and working hard. Queens College played better than us tonight.”The Knights play at Dowling Thursday and are home for Molloy Saturday before heading to Philadelphia University Monday at 7 p.m.Reach reporter Mitch Abramson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300 Ext. 130.
