NEWBERRY, S.C. – A day after earning their first No. 1 ranking in program history, the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team traveled to face Newberry College (8-7, 3-5) pulling out a hard-fought 81-75 win over the Wolves. The win moves the Royals to 16-0 on the year, matching their program-best 16-0 start from just a season ago, and 8-0 in South Atlantic Conference play.
 
Queens was led by Shaun Willett who totaled 15 points and 11 rebounds to record his second double-double of the season. Newberry, South Carolina native Jalin Alexander scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in front of his hometown crowd. Daniel Carr added 10 points, and Todd Withers chipped in with nine points and 12 rebounds.
 
Despite leading by as much as 15 points this evening over the Wolves and holding the lead for over 30 minutes of action, the Royals found themselves tied at 60-60 with Newberry with 8:40 left to play thanks to an 11-1 run by the Wolves. Newberry's run would span over nearly three minutes allowing them to eventually take a 62-61 lead on a jumper from Max Miller at 7:46. They then pulled in front by five on a three-pointer from Luke Gibson at 4:39, but a rebound, put-back from Darryl White of Queens followed by a triple from Withers would knot the game back up at 70-70 with 3:41 remaining on the clock.
 
One more lead change and another tie would follow before Queens' Ike Agusi returned control of the game to the Royals for good with a pair of layups that put the visitors in front, 77-73. Willet was then clutch at the foul line connecting on a pair at the charity stripe to increase Queens' lead to six, 79-73, before Rob Valentine of the Wolves was able to knock down the final field goal of the night with 37 seconds remaining. Carr then scored Queens' final two points of the night at the foul line before the final horn sounded.
 
The Royals shot 49-percent from the floor tonight after shooting just 21-percent from the three. Newberry performed with a 32-percent clip getting off 82 total shots to Queens' 68 in their platoon system. Queens also committed an uncharacteristic 25 turnovers which the Wolves converted into 22 points keeping them in tonight's game. However, the Royals won the battle under the glass by a landslide, 62-35, and totaled 52 points in the paint to Newberry's 20.
 
Agusi and Lewis Diankulu completed play with eight points each while White and Mike Davis totaled seven points apiece. Davis also recorded 11 rebounds while White grabbed eight boards.
 
At halftime, Queens led 39-26 after a 7-0 run put the Royals in front, 37-23 with 1:46 on the clock. A lay-in from Willet later gave the Royals their largest lead of the first half, 39-25, before a free-throw from Newberry's Quaman Burton made it a 13-point game at the break.
 
James Stepp led the Wolves with 14 points this evening while Gibson added 12 points. Rob Valentine finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
Queens will return home on Saturday, Jan. 13 to host No. 5 Lincoln Memorial University in a rematch of the NCAA DII Southeast Regional Championship game. Last year, the two teams split the regular season before Queens defeated the Railsplitters in the SAC Championship. LMU then returned the favor to Queens in the NCAA Championships to advance to the Elite 8. Tip-off for the national showdown is scheduled for 4 p.m.