Box Score HARROGATE, TENN. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament after knocking off Columbus State by the score of 94-84 on Saturday, March 12th.
 
The Royals would only out-rebound the Cougars by three, 39-36, but would control almost every other statistical category in the game. Queens accumulated 11 steals while causing 18 turnovers in the game, resulting in 22 points off of turnovers while shooting 52.6 percent from the field in the game. With the win, the Royals move to 25-6 on the season
 
Rob Lewis and Marquis Rankin poured in the points tonight for the Royals as they added 23 and 21 points in the game. Lewis was flirting in triple double territory as he added eight rebounds and seven assists to go along with his 23 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 shooting from three point range. Todd Withers also had a solid game as he grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to go along with 13 points scored in the game.
 
Columbus State started the game off on top as they had an early 17-9 lead over the Royals as Brent Jackson knocked down two free throws, giving them the eight point advantage with 13:28 to play in the first half. Queens would then burst out to a 14-5 run to take a 23-22 lead as Sean Morgan scored five straight points with 9:02 to play before halftime. The lead would change hands a couple more times until the Royals cracked open an eight point, 39-31 lead with 3:33 left in the half on a run that was sparked by two three pointers by Lewis. The Cougars' Jackson knocked down a three ball with two seconds left on the clock that would make the score 47-39 in favor of the Royals at the break.
 
Queens started to take control of the second half as they increased their lead to 13 points, 60-47, as Rankin knocked down a three pointer with 13:38 to play in the second half. Over the night five minutes, the Cougars would outscore Queens 22-10 to knock the Royals lead down to only four points, 70-66 with 7:41 to play in the game. The Royals would answer right back, using an 8-2 run with five points from Jared Hendryx, to take an 84-74 lead with just over three minutes left on the clock. Queens would hold on strong at the end of the game, hitting their free throws down the stretch when they needed to as they knocked of Columbus State 94-84.
 
Brent Jackson scored a game high 25 points for the Cougars on 7-of-15 shooting from the field to go along with eight rebounds and three assists. Three other players from Columbus State scored in double figures led by Cam Baker's 19 points and seven assists.
 
The Royals will advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to meet with South Atlantic Conference foe Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters for the third time this season with tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m.