CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Despite building a six-point cushion going into halftime, Queens men's basketball was unable to pick up their first win on the young season Friday night, as they fell, 66-69, to Wingate University in game one of the South Atlantic Conference/Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Tip-Off Classic.

Plagued by 19 turnovers -- converted into 17 points -- and the inability to keep the Bulldogs off the offensive glass, Royals head coach Wes Long gave Wingate credit for the win.

“Wingate played harder down the stretch and wanted to win more, as evidenced by their 23 offensive rebounds.”

The game was a tale of ups and downs for the Royals, who trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half before taking the lead into the break.

Facing their largest deficit, Daniel Bailey (Irmo, S.C., Hammond ) sparked a rally and scored all seven of his first half points over an eight-minute stretch that saw Queens outscore Wingate 20-7 and take a 26-24 lead.

Continuing to apply pressure before the break, Reggie Hopkins (Gastonia, N.C., Ashbrook) picked Paidrick Matilus' pocket and sunk a pair from the charity stripe in the final minute of play to put the Royals up 35-29 at the half.

The Royals carried that momentum into the second half when the Bulldogs' first possession came to an abrupt end after a Sean Eads (Greenville, S.C., Eastside) steal led to an easy layup for Bailey.

The Royals' lead would continue to build over the following minutes and reached a game-high 13 after an Eads three-pointer.

Wingate's Mike Tankersley quickly responded with a three-pointer to bring the Bulldogs within 10 and begin a run of their own. The Bulldogs put together a 17-3 run over the next four minutes, capped off by an Eddie Lewis three-pointer to take a one-point lead with 12:39 remaining in the game.

Royals big man Antonio Stabler (Garner, N.C., Wakefield) responded on the next Queens possession with a pair of free throws to regain the lead at 49-48

The game would go into a tailspin, consisting of four turnovers, over the next two minutes.

Ethan Kincaid broke the silence with his only basket of the half to put the Bulldogs up 50-49 – a lead they would build up to seven in the coming minutes.

Trailing by five, the Royals forced a pair of Jaime Vaughn turnovers in the final 1:19 to bring them within three in the final 21 seconds.

Charging down the floor, Hopkins, who had previously hit three-of-four from deep on the night, missed a three-pointer to tie. Following his shot, Hopkins was able to gain possession of the rebound and call a 30-second timeout.

Coming out of the break, Stabler was also unable to deliver from deep as the Royals fell to 0-2 on the season.

Though outshooting the Bulldogs 45.1 percent (23-51) to 32.4 percent (22-68) on the night, the Royals were outrebounded 45-34.

“We talk about rebounding and taking care of the ball as the two things that will help us win,” said Long. “We didn't do either.

“Outrebounded by 11 and turned it over 20 times… We will come back and fix it tomorrow.”

The Royals return to the court tomorrow night as they face tournament host Lenoir-Rhyne University at 7:00 p.m.

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