The 2002-03 Queens University of Charlotte Men's Basketball Team, pictured on the right, recorded their best season statistically in school history - finishing their season in the NCAA Division II men's basketball semi-finals, earning the East Regional crown in front of their home crowd, ending their regular season first in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference, and owning a 29-4 overall record (18-3 CVAC).
This season marked Queens second appearance (first in 2002 in Bakersfield, Cal.) and best finish at the men's basketball Elite Eight Tournament. Held at the Lakeland Civic Center (Fla.), the Royals advanced to the semi-finals with a 99-78 victory over Eckerd College Fla.), only to fall 69-84 the eventual D-II champions: Northeastern State University.
"I have never been more proud of one of my teams," said Head Coach Bart Lundy, pictured on the left. "This is a great group of guys. They played with more heart and desire than any other team I've seen."
Entering the 2002-03 season, Queens had high hopes for this year's squad -- they did not disappoint. The Royals broke team, career, season, and game records throughout the course of 2002-03. As a team, their overall record of 29-4 marks winningest season in school history. The Royals tied the program's highest national ranking of No. 6 (matching previous ranking in 2000-01 season) during the regular season and also tied the record set in 1995-96 of eleven consecutive wins. On Jan. 18, Queens set a new game-high team free-throw percentage of .929 making 26 of 28 attempts in a 105-87 victory over Pfeiffer University.
The Royals had more individual records broken in 2003 than any other team in school history. The depth of the Royals' roster speaks volumes, as six players finished as CVAC and/or NCAA leaders. Junior guard Spencer Ross, pictured on the right, was the only Royal recognized at both the conference and national level. He began the season relatively unknown, but finished his first season as a marked man. With 788 points and averaging 23.9 points per game he is the single-season leading scorer at Queens. These numbers placed him sixth on the NCAA scoring leaders list and second in the CVAC. He was named First-Team All-CVAC, First-Team All-East Region in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll, and Second-Team All-East Region in the Daktronics All-Ameican poll.
Ross also finished with one of the top free-throw percentages in the nation (87%) which was good enough to put him second on the CVAC leader board, and 26th in the NCAA. Averaging 5.48 assists and 2.33 steals per game, Ross finished second and third, respectively, in the CVAC in these categories.
Senior forward Carlos Andrade also etched his name into the Queens basketball record books and in the hearts of Royals' fans. With 1,576 points, Andrade finished his career as a Royal as the Second All-Time leading scorer (falling 52 points behind classmate Chris Benson). He amassed 755 total rebounds while at Queens and is the All-Time leading rebounder (previous record held by DeWayne Ansley, 693), and is third on the assists list with 293 for his career.
Going into this season, Andrade was named a Pre-Season All-American. He had the task of battling through opposing defenses keying in on him as Queens' primary offensive threat. Andrade earned Second-Team All-CVAC by putting up 15.2 points per game (15th in the conference), 7.18 rebounds per game (6th in the conference), and 1.76 steals per game (10th in the conference.)
Senior guard Chris Benson made his mark as a Royal as well. Benson finished as Queens' All-Time leading scorer with 1,628 career points. The previous record of 1,462 was held by Chuck Wittman (1993-97). He is also the All-Time leading three-point scorer with 350 field goals made from behind the arc, blowing the previous record of 184 three-pointers made by Glen Harris (1997-99) out of the water. Benson was named All-CVAC Honorable Mention, scoring 14.9 points per game. He also owns the single-season record of three-pointers made with 106-of-259 attempts (.409 3-pt percentage).
Junior guard Moustapha Diouf also made an immediate impact in his first season at Queens. With 116 blocks (3.52 per game) during the 2002-03 campaign, Diouf set a new school record while finishing No. 3 in the NCAA and No. 1 in the CVAC in this category. He swatted an amazing 10 blocks on Jan. 11 versus Coker College to set a new single-game record at Queens. Diouf is pictured on the left cutting down the net after winning the NCAA Division II East Region Championship.
Forwards Anthony "Dreamer" Thomas (sophomore) and Kendrick Harris (freshman) also dominated on the court helping the Royals to the D-II semi's. Dreamer played the role of sixth-man all season long and earned his other title "I.O.," which stands for "Instant-Offense." Coming off the bench, Dreamer hit 32-of-73 three-point attempts (43.8%) and finished fourth in the CVAC in this category.
Rounding out the impressive list of Queens' basketball leaders as the only freshman in the Royals' starting line-up, Harris proved he belonged as he finished 12th in the CVAC in the rebounding category earning 6.33 rebounds per game.
Before looking toward next season, the Royals will enjoy the memories and highlights of this record-breaking season. The 2002-03 squad has raised the bar for Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball teams for years to come.
