Queens, N.Y.- A three-pointer by
Juwuan Carter with just ten seconds remaining in regulation lifted Georgian Court University to a 67-65 triumph at Queens College Saturday afternoon as the Lions, after dropping three straight to start the season, provided
Brian Reese his first victory as GCU head coach.
The win, Georgian Court's first-ever true road victory vs. a non-conference opponent, moves the Lions to 1-3 on the young campaign while the Knights fall to 1-3 after the crushing home-court setback.
GCU jumped out to an initial 7-0 lead vs. the Knights to start the day, but the home team countered with a string of eight straight to lead 8-7 at 4:40 into the contest. Queens would jump out to a stanza-high seven-point advantage on two seperate occasions with the latter coming with 1:11 before intermission at 28-21. However a jumper by Carter and a three-ball courtesy of
Nikola Vujovic over the final 1:04 cut the GCU deficit to 28-26 heading into the locker room.
The Lions began to hit their stride in the second half, opening what seemed to be a mighty 11-point lead of 53-42 with 9:03 left on the clock. The Knights proved to have alternate plans as they rattled off a 15-6 run to cut the GCU lead to 59-57 with 4:33 to go.
Queens would go on another 8-7 spurt to eventually wrestle the advantage out of the Lions' mitts and take a promising 65-64 lead into the final 1:04 of regulation play. The one-point surplus appeared to be secure until Carter pulled up and drained the deathblow that would tumble the Knights, capping a sensational week for the thrill-seeking sophomore shooter.
Vujovic paced the victors with 16 points in 29 minutes off the GCU bench.
J.D. Rodriguez popped in 14 points while Carter followed with 13 of his own.
Keith Hughes provided nine points and a team-high seven boards.
Queens'
Tyree White (Jr.-Brooklyn, N.Y.) enjoyed an outstanding outing, leading all players with 22 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Teammate
Diego Maldonado (Jr.-Valley Stream, N.Y.) contributed 13 points while
Travis Whitfield (Sr.-Baldwin, N.Y.) dropped in 10 of his own.
GCU hopes to carry this momentum into next week when the Lions travel to Philadelphia University Tuesday evening for a big CACC divisional showdown, starting at 8:00 p.m.