Box Score CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (17-12), seeded fourth in the South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Championship, advances to the semifinal round after defeating fifth seeded Wingate University (15-14) by a score of 84-66 in Curry Arena this evening. The Royals will face top-seeded and third nationally ranked Lincoln Memorial University in Greenville, S.C., on Saturday, March 7.
 
Queens shot 50.9-percent from the floor tonight, while holding the Bulldogs to just 36.2-perecent shooting en route to collecting the win over Wingate in their third meeting of the season.
 
Junior guard Rob Lewis totaled 27 points to lead all players on the court. He also totaled three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Marquis Rankin followed with 19 points, seven assists and two steals. Jedarian Jackson totaled a season-high 16 rebounds to lead all on the floor, along with six points and four steals.
 
The Royals as a team outscored Wingate 34-28 in the paint, and totaled 22 fast break points in the win. Additionally, Queens shot an impressive 82.1-percent from the foul line with Lewis connecting on a perfect 9-of-9 attempts, and Rankin going 9-of-10.
 
Queens quickly jumped out to a 5-0 lead after starting the game with a three from Rankin and a dunk from Jared Hendryx. By the 10 minute mark, the home team held a 10-point lead over the Bulldogs thanks to a 7-0 push capped by three-points scored the old-fashioned way by Lewis. At 5:36, Wingate had cut the Royals' lead to four, but an 8-0 spurt soon increased the margin to 12 with 2:50 to play. Five straight points from Wingate helped them to pull within seven, but Rankin would end the period just as he started it knocking down a three to help his team head into the locker room at the break with a 39-29 lead.
 
The Royals started the second half much like the first quickly increasing their lead to 20, 53-33, with 14:32 on the clock. Soon after, the home team saw its largest lead of the night when a pair of free-throws by Rankin at 11:33 put Queens ahead by 26 points, 59-33. With the Royals' clip showing no signs of cooling off, the Bulldogs weren't able to get closer than 15 points in the remaining minutes of play.
 
Xavier Griffin and Ryan Daye led the Bulldogs this evening with 11 points each, while Keith Griffin chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds.
 
The Royals will meet up with the No. 3 Railsplitters in Greenville, S.C. on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. It will be the third meeting between the two teams this season after LMU defeated Queens back in November by a score of 66-51, and in January by a score of 101-69. The semifinal and final rounds of the SAC Men's Basketball Championship will take place in Timmons Arena on the campus of Furman University.