GAFFNEY, S.C.- Queens men's basketball gave Limestone a run for their money in the first round of the Conference Carolinas tournament Saturday night in Gaffney, S.C. The Saints edged the Royals in the last 28 seconds for the 72-69 victory.
The game was close throughout the entire 40 minutes. Limestone led for a majority of the first half, but the Royals' kept the score tight as the Saints never led by more than five points. Limestone entered halftime with a 38-36 lead.
The Saints quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead in the second period. Limestone led by 10 points (66-56) with 4:21 left to play, but the Royals started to close in, thanks to made free-throws from Sean Eads (Greenville, S.C., Eastside) and Patrick Fox (Eden, N.C. , Morehead). A layup by Daniel Bailey (Irmo, S.C., Hammond ), the Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year, put Queens within one point, and Reggie Hopkins (Gastonia, N.C., Ashbrook) tied the score 66-66 with only 46 seconds left on the clock. Tyron Evans (Leesburg, Fla.) gave Limestone back the lead with his made three-pointer at the 28-second mark. Shawn Creal (Spartanburg, S.C.) gave the Saints some more breathing room with his uncontested layup with 10 seconds left. Hopkins made things interesting when he made a 3-pointer with 4 seconds remaining to put the Royals within 2 (71-69), but Anthony Middleton (Holly Hill, S.C.) increased the Saints lead to 72-69 with a made free-throw. A last-second three-point attempt by Queens was unsuccessful, as Limestone advances to the tournament quarterfinals with a 72-69 win.
Evans led Limestone with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Michael Barrett (Virginia Beach, Va.) contributed 13 points and 4 assists. Creal scored 10. Middleton led the Saints with five assists and also pulled down seven rebounds.
Hopkins scored a game-high 24 points. Bailey scored 14, while Charles Burgess (Spartanburg, S.C., Boiling Springs) chipped in 11 points.
Limestone climbs to 10-18 on the season, as the Royals end their season with a 7-21 record.
Limestone, the # 8 seed in the Conference Carolinas tournament, advances to play #1-seeded Barton in Wilson, N.C., on Monday at 7 p.m.
