HICKORY, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team secured a 94-81 road win over Lenoir-Rhyne University this evening to move to 24-3 on the year and 18-3 in South Atlantic Conference play. The Bears fall to 9-12 on the year and 10-16 in the league with the loss.
 
Mike Davis led the Royals with 22 points after connecting on five-of-seven threes. Josh Van Weezep followed with a career-high 18 points on six-of-eight shooting from the three. Daniel Camps added 17 points and Todd Withers totaled 13 points and six rebounds .Both Ike Agusi and Daniel Carr dished out seven assists apiece as the Royals totaled 27 in the game.
 
The Royals trailed the entire first half of play in tonight's game, but the Bears were only able to stretch their lead to as much as eight during the period. Queens cut their margin to one multiple times in the half, with the final coming on a layup from Daniel Carr at 6:32 that gave the game a 31-30 score. However, Lenoir-Rhyne responded with an 8-1 run to lead 39-31 with 4:35 on the clock. A triple from Josh Van Weezep at 2:23 brought Queens back to within two, 41-39, but the Bears closed with a 7-3 spurt to take a six-point lead, 48-42, at the break.
 
Queens would take over tonight's game in the second half, outscoring the Bears 52-33 after shooting 64-percent from the floor. After a three-pointer from Withers knotted the game at 52-52 with 16:40 on the clock, Camps gave Queens the lead with a layup at 16:16. Another tie would follow before the Royals put together a 14-2 run to build a 70-56 lead with 10:42 to play. The 14-point lead would be the largest of the night for Queens, though Lenoir-Rhyne cut the gap to four with 4:31 left in regulation. Six straight points from the Royals in response would put them back on top by 10, and they pushed the lead back out to 13-points before the final horn sounded.
 
The Royals shot over 50-percent from the three-point line this evening, shooting nearly 60-percent from deep in the second half. Additionally, Queens outscored Lenoir-Rhyne 38-20 in the paint, and edged them under the glass, 32-26.
 
Darrion Evans finished the game with 31 points to lead the Bears after scoring 25 points in the first half. Jalen Variste totaled 21 points, and JacQues Chambers added 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
The Royals will wrap their regular season on Saturday, February 25 when they host Tusculum College for Senior Day. Queens defeated the Pioneers, 83-79, on the road on January 14. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.