CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With their backs against the wall, Queens men's basketball would not be denied their 13th straight win, as they held off Coker College in the final seconds at Ovens Athletic Center to win 62-59 and remain the only Conference Carolinas team unbeaten in league play.

“We definitely feel fortunate to win this one tonight, because it surely could have gone the other way,” said Royals head coach Wes Long. “Coker is a tough, scrappy basketball team, and that was almost enough to do us in tonight.”

Going 13-13 from the charity stripe, Reggie Hopkins (Gastonia, N.C., Ashbrook) led all scorers with 23 points and five rebounds.

Leading by as many as 13 in the first half, the Royals' 12th-ranked DII field goal-percentage defense (37.5) was on par through the first half – holding the Cobras to 37 percent on 10-of-27 shooting.

The Royals connected on 46.4 of their shots to take a 31-25 lead into the break.

The second half would be a different story for the Royals. While they struggled to find their mark on the offensive end, the Cobras worked the deficit down to one point before an Austin Harper jumper gave them their first lead of the game at 38-37 with over 15 minutes remaining.

Tom Wright gathered one of Coker's 14 second-half offensive rebounds and notched an easy layup to give the Cobras a seven-point lead with 9:06 on the clock.

“I thought we got outhustled, lost far too many 50-50 balls, and obviously they did a number on us on the offensive glass,” said Long.

Queens responded to the deficit with a 9-0 run that featured a breakaway dunk by Antonio Stabler (Garner, N.C., Wakefield) that ignited the crowd and put the Royals back into the lead.

Trailing 60-59, Coker's Liam Kyle missed a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining.

Forced to foul, the Cobras sent Hopkins to the line to sink his 12th and 13th consecutive free throws with 00:03 on the clock to put the Royals up 62-59.

Out of timeouts, the Cobras' Delonte Doles heaved a full court shot that fell short as time expired.

“I'm proud that we found a way to win on a night when we didn't necessarily deserve to win. We pride ourselves on earning our wins, so I'm not sure how good we can feel about some of our efforts.”

Winning their 13th in a row tops the 12-game streak put together by the 2002-03 team.  But, at the end of the day it's just another game for Coach Long and the Royals.

“All said, I'm happy for our players that we got another win. Winning the number in a row which we have isn't easy. Now we need to take this week to improve as a basketball team, because there are a number of tough challenges ahead for us.”

The Royals have the next six days off before they travel to St. Andrews Presbyterian on Saturday, February 5 for a 4 pm tip. The Royals defeated the Knights in their first meeting, 95-83.