CHEYNEY, PA. – Cheyney University men's basketball scored the games final seven points to secure a 66-62 victory over visiting Queens College, to open 2023 on Saturday afternoon inside Cope Hall.

Freshman Jalen Boyd-Savage (Pennsauken, NJ, Paul VI HS ) led all players with 27 points, including seven straight Cheyney points as the Wolves (3-10) closed the game on a 20-10 run over the final eight minutes. The victory snapped a 10-game losing skid for Cheyney and is the first win for the Wolves over an NCAA Division II team of the season.

The Knights, (4-10) who were led by Malik Bentinck with 14 points off the bench, went ahead 62-59 on a three-point shot with 3:08 left on the clock, but a stifling Cheyney defense kept Queens off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

Sophomore Kian Nixon (Upper Marlboro, MD, , Feather River CC) made a layup, off a pass from freshman Rynell Bert (Baltimore, MD, St. Frances Academy HS), was fouled and converted the three-point play to even the game at 62-62 with 2:38 left in the contest.

Bert grabbed a defensive rebound and Boyd-Savage, who scored 16 second half points, mostly on getting to the basket, drove the lane one more time and converted while being fouled. The freshman then completed the three-point play to give Cheyney a 65-62 edge with 1:33 to play.

Both teams missed opportunities and Queens had the ball after a timeout with 13 seconds left in the 2^nd half. The Knights missed a three-point shot and freshman Robert Keys (Philadelphia, PA, Paul Robeson HS) grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled with eight ticks left on the clock. Keys missed the first attempt, but then swished the second one to provide the final point of the game. Sophomore Jabril Baxter (Philadelphia, PA, Academy at Palumbo HS ), who made his first start of the season, stole the inbounds pass to seal the victory.

Cheyney held the lead for over 10 minutes of the first half but were never able to build the advantage to more than four points, in part due to making just 7 of 15 free throw attempts in the first half. There were 10 lead changes and eight ties and the first 20 minutes ended even at 33-33.

Boyd-Savage paced Cheyney with 11 points and Keys added 10. All nine players for the Knights scored in the first half.

The second half continued with the see-saw and Cheyney regained the lead 46-45 on two free-throws from sophomore Nathan Pettus Jr (Philadelphia, PA, Hill Freedman World Academy HS) with 10:03 left in the second stanza. The Knights responded with a 7-0 run to build the largest lead for either team 52-46 at 7:49 mark.

Two free-throws from Boyd-Savage ended the run, Cheyney missed only two of 12 shots from the charity stripe in the second half. Nixon then stepped to line and made both shots to pull Cheyney with two at 54- 50, a layup off and offensive rebound by Keys made it a two-point contest with 6:32 showing on the clock.

Boyd-Savage then brought Cheyney within one on a shot from downtown and his driving layup, following a Queens free-throw,, tied the game at 57-57 at the 5:12 mark.

Bentick puts the Knights back ahead 59-57, a baseline jumper by Bert evened things up again and forced a Queens timeout with 3:49 to play.

A three-pointer by the Knights gave them their final lead of the game 62-59 with 3:01 left, Nixon tied the game, for the final time the sixteenth tie of the game, with a three-point play and Boyd-Savage finished the comeback with a driving layup and a three-point play as Cheyney went on to the victory.
 
Keys scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds, Nixon added 11 points and tied Pettus Jr for team-high with five rebounds. Bert chipped in with eight points, a team-best three assists with three boards and a block.

The Wolves hit the road to Takoma, MD on Tuesday January 10, for a doubleheader with the ladies starting at 6 pm and the men tipping off at 8 pm, against Washington Adventist University. The Wolves return home on Wednesday January 11 for a doubleheader with Penn State Lehigh Valley, Women at 5:30 followed by the men at 7:30. The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 4 but was postponed to the 11^th.