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Bertin’s bucket helps Queens bounce Tech Bears in NYCAC quarters

By Dylan Butler

The Queens College men's basketball coach would love to say that he drew up Shaun Bertin's winning layup with 2.2 seconds left in overtime that lifted the Knights to a wild 88-86 win over New York Tech in the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference quarterfinals Wednesday night, but he didn't.The truth is that Queens, which rebounded from an 18-point deficit seconds into the second half, advances to the tournament semifinals for the first time in three years on a broken play.The truth is the play designed during a timeout with 11.9 seconds left was for John Sikiric, just as it was at the end of regulation. That time, with the score tied at 77, Sikiric ran around three screens and his runner in the lane rimmed out with four seconds left.ÊBut this time Sikiric was guarded tightly and Hassan Washington drove into the lane and found a wide open Bertin on the left blocks. The junior forward, who was named to the All-NYCAC second team and finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds, turned and scored what proved to be the game-winning layup.”We made basketball plays, Lance (Hazel), Hassan made plays. I didn't tell them,” Peponakis said. “Marvin (Lawrence) yelled throw it in the post to Shaun. It was a nice play, it was a good finish and it all worked out.”Fifth-seeded Queens, which for the first time in program history captured 20 wins, will play No. 8 New Haven Saturday at C.W. Post at 7:30 p.m. The Chargers stunned top-seeded Adelphi in one of two quarterfinal upsets. No. 7 C.W. Post defeated Bridgeport in the other upset. The Pioneers take on third-seeded Philadelphia University at 5 p.m. in the other semifinal.The NYCAC championship game is also at C.W. Post Sunday at 3:30 p.m.”That's a credit to them, but they're ready for the next step. That's what they want and that's what I want,” Peponakis said. “We put ourselves in a position we want to be in.”It is the first time since the 2001-02 season that Queens advanced past the first round of the conference tournament. That year Queens captured the NYCAC title, beating New York Tech in the final.That was Sikiric's freshman year and the Knights made their second straight trip to the NCAA tournament. A win over New Haven Saturday would likely put Queens (20-8) in an excellent position for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.But for a while Wednesday, it appeared the Knights season would end at Fitzgerald Gymnasium. New York Tech (16-12) went on a 17-0 run to take a 41-23 lead with 2:43 left in the first half and after Queens got within 43-28 at the break, Patrick Tunstead's 3-pointer 46 seconds into the second half put the Bears back ahead by 18.Lance Hazel buried a trey and NYCAC Rookie of the Year Clyde Chapman scored from inside to ignite a 13-0 run. Despite still being up 13, Tech coach Sal Lagano turned towards his assistant coaches and softly said, “We're in trouble.”Lagano's seen this before. On Jan. 18, New York Tech blew a pair of 15-point leads and Queens rallied for a 92-90 overtime win.In that game Sikiric, who finished third in the voting for NYCAC Player of the Year behind Philadelphia's Tayron Thomas and St. Thomas Aquinas' Robert Epps, overcame a slow start to score all of his 32 points after the first half. But on Wednesday night, it was the Knights depth that was the difference.”We really folded under pressure at our place and I don't think we folded tonight,” Lagano said. “I think the game plan was good, we took a shot at it and almost got them and it was almost a good upset.”Another 3-pointer by Hazel, who scored 14 points off the bench, gave Queens its first lead of the game, 70-69 with 4:37 left in the second half. Rade Dzambic (17 points) scored five straight points to give Tech a 74-71 lead with 2:32 left. After Washington and Dzambic exchanged treys, Chapman (14 points) scored on a putback to tie the game at 77 with 1:03 left.Dzambic had another good look from beyond the arc, but missed from 3-point range and Sikiric, who had 19 points and 9 boards, grabbed the rebound with 38 seconds left.After Sikiric's runner didn't fall with four seconds left, Avery Oliver (15 points, 13 rebounds) ran up the right side of the court and his half-court heave nearly fell at the buzzer. But the shot by the scorer's table bounced off the front rim and the game would go to overtime.”(Lagano) did a good job of taking John out; he doubled him, he ran at him every time he touched it. He made it hard for him,” Peponakis said. “He forced other guys to make shots and we were lucky enough to make them.”With the score tied at 82 with 2:10 left in overtime, Washington drew the fifth and final foul of Tunstead, who scored 15 points in his collegiate finale. With the 6-foot-5 forward from Australia out of the game, Queens attacked the basket effectively.”That was our downfall, we don't have the size down there that can actually play in a pressing type game,” Lagano said. “Our plan was to make them shoot a lot of threes and it worked for a while. But eventually it wears off.”Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.