CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Queens men's basketball returned to its winning ways Monday night, picking up a 70-60 victory against Lees-McRae in Ovens Athletic Center.

“I thought Lees-McRae played well and really made us earn this one, and so I'm proud of the effort from our guys in battling against a team who gave us a great shot," said Royals head coach Wes Long.

The win, paired with Limestone's 76-53 loss to Coker tonight, gives the Royals (14-5, 11-1 Conference Carolinas) sole possession of first place in the conference, while the Bobcats drop to 1-10 (5-13).

Four Royals scored in double figures, including a game-high 22 points from Reggie Hopkins (Gastonia, N.C., Ashbrook), who is now just five points from becoming the Queens men's hoops all-time points leader.

Antonio Stabler (Garner, N.C., Wakefield) notched 17 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Fellow big man Brent Evans (Beaufort, S.C., Battery Creek) and wing Daniel Bailey (Irmo, S.C., Hammond ) rounded out the majority of the scoring, combining for 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting.

Long was impressed with the execution of his post players, adding, "Both Brent and Antonio did some nice things on the offensive end, finishing around the rim, and helping facilitate our offense."

Despite shooting 45.5 percent from the field in the first half, the Bobcats were unable to keep pace the Royals, who hit 13 of their 25 attempts to shoot 52 percent en route to a 36-25 lead at the break.

The Royals stayed hot in the second half, shooting 47.4 percent, while their trademark defense held the Bobcats to 33.3 percent in the second stanza.

Leading the way with 11 second-half points on four-of-four shooting, Evans gave the Royals their largest lead of the game at 66-50 with 4:10 remaining, allowing the Royals to take their foot off the gas.

Entering the final third of the conference schedule, Coach Long emphasized "the importance for us to continue to make improvements and desire to be great on both ends of the floor.”

The Royals return to the court Thursday night in a matchup of regionally-ranked teams when they travel to Gaffney, S.C. for their second go with Limestone (16-4, 10-2).