By Dylan Butler
Shaun Bertin said the Queens College men's basketball team knew they'd be able to play without Bradd Wierzbicki, the leading scorer in the NYCAC conference.
And on Wednesday night, Bertin and the Knights proved their point.
With Wierzbicki sidelined with a strained calf, Queens went on a key 23-7 run in the second half to cruise to a 73-60 win over the University of New Haven at Fitzgerald Gymnasium in Flushing.
“We have players who can step in and replace anybody if we need it,” Bertin said. “Guys can play. It's just that we have to go out there and perform.”
Wierzbicki, who averages 24.2 points per game – ninth in the country – is listed as day-to-day but is expected to return for Saturday's league tilt with New York Tech. The silky shooting junior from Maspeth injured his calf when he suffered a hard foul late in last Thursday's home win against Dowling.
Anthony Mauceri earned his first career start and flourished for the Knights. The senior point guard is Queens' best defender but has struggled to stay in games because of foul trouble.
Against New Haven (3-9, 1-4 NYCAC), though, the McClancy product played a season-high 37 minutes, only picking up his second foul with 2:16 left in the game. He also scored 15 points, going 3-of-4 from three-point range. He also had four assists and three steals.
“He makes them every day in practice, he's one of our better shooters,” Queens coach Kyrk Peponakis said. “When he shoots, we're very confident. It got to a point tonight that I was running stuff for him that I was running for Bradd.”
What made Mauceri's contribution even more important was that starting guard Hassan Washington played just 12 minutes because of foul trouble. The junior picked up his fourth foul 1:09 into the second half and wouldn't return until there was 2:09 left and Queens (10-3, 6-0) was in front, 70-55.
“I knew my team needed me today so I had to step it up,” Mauceri said. “I was trying to play aggressive while not fouling and I did a good job of that today.”
Bertin was his usual dominant self inside, registering a double-double with a game-high 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds. His biggest buckets came after back-to-back corner three-pointers by Bryan Moriarty (12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc) cut New Haven's deficit to 49-48 with 11:05 left.
After Peponakis called a timeout, the ball was pushed inside to Bertin and the 6-foot-6 senior scored six of the Knights' next eight points and when Mauceri buried a three, the Knights' lead ballooned to 70-60 with 7:34 left.
“I was having fun out there tonight,” Bertin said. “I figured since Bradd wasn't playing I had to step up my game, being the second leading scorer on the team. I felt like I had to give a bigger effort tonight.”
Chapman had 13 points and nine rebounds and Lance Hazel added 10 points and six boards for Queens, which won its fourth straight and eighth of its last nine games.
For New Haven, John Sullivan had 19 points, including the 1,000th of his career with a free throw early in the second half.
New Haven 79, Queens College 72. Ashley Hilton had 18 points and eight rebounds and Adelina Gentry had 14 points off the bench for New Haven (9-3, 4-0 NYCAC) Wednesday at Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
Patti Cronin had 17 points, Jillian Henn had 16 and Erin White added 11 for Queens, which dropped to 5-7, 1-4.
Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
