Postgame Interview with Bart Lundy

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In front of a crowd of nearly 1,400, the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team, currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, hosted No. 5 Lincoln Memorial University in an NCAA DII top-five showdown this evening. The Sweet 16 rematch from a season ago would not disappoint as the game came down to the final seconds with Queens being edged 73-72 in Curry Arena. The loss is the first of the season for Queens who matched their program-best 16-0 start on Wednesday night. They now sit 16-1 on the year and 8-1 in the South Atlantic Conference while LMU moves to 15-1 on the season and 9-0 in league play.
 
Tonight's back and forth affair that saw 12 ties and nine lead changes began with the Royals building an eight-point lead early after opening the game shooting 46-percent from the floor. A 7-3 spurt later increased Queens' lead to 14, their largest of the game, with 5:44 to play in the first half. However, the Royals would go cold for the remaining minutes of the period as the Railsplitters chipped away at their lead making it just a three-point game, 36-33, heading into the break. Both teams shot just over 38-percent from the floor in the half.
 
LMU would take over the lead for the first time in the second half on a layup from Emanuel Terry at 19:48. They would only pull in front by as much as five before back-to-back triples from Queens Mike Davis and Shaun Willett put the Royals back in front, 44-43, with 15:57 to play. Following two more lead changes, Queens would piece together as much as a five-point lead on two occasions before the Railsplitters' Josh Odem knocked down a three-pointer to put his team ahead, 57-55, at just under the 10-minute mark.
 
Queens would not see the lead again until a pair of free-throws from Daniel Carr put them back on top by just two, 65-63, with 4:11 to play. Five ties followed in the closing minutes with the final coming at 1:30 when Carr knocked down another at the charity stripe to knot the game at 70-70, with 1:30 to play. Trevon Shaw soon followed rattling down a triple from the corner with a hand in his face to give LMU a 73-70 lead with 1:14 on the clock. A steal by Davis then led to a fast-break bucket making it a one-point game with just 22 seconds to play.
 
The Royals would see their chance to take the win when a turnover by LMU's Deshawn Patterson put the ball back in Queens' hands with 21 seconds left to play. However, the Royals' Agusi would come up short on a jumper in the paint forcing the Royals to foul and send Shaw to the line with eight ticks on the clock. Shaw would miss both freebies giving Queens one more chance at the winning basket, but the Royals would come up short on a three in the final seconds.  
 
The Royals, who are shooting 50.6-percent from the floor this year performed with just a 39.4-percent clip this evening. The Railsplitters shot 45.8-percent from the floor after entering the game leading the nation at 55.6-percent. LMU also averages 97 points per game, but the Royals were able to hold them 24 points below their average tonight.
 
Queens was led by Willett who totaled a career-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and 2-of-2 shooting from the three. Carr would follow with 14 points. The pair helped Queen's bench outscore LMU's 41-7. Agusi added 12 points and five assists, Davis totaled eight points, and Todd Withers totaled seven points and eight rebounds. Davis also recorded five of Queens' 14 steals in the game.
 
Shaw led the Railsplitters with 17 points while Dorian Pinson totaled 16 points. Emanuel Terry added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Cornelius Taylor contributed 11 points.
 
Queens will remain home for its next two contests with the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne visiting first on Wednesday, Jan. 17. Last year, the Royals swept the Bears winning 78-56 at home and 94-81 on the road. Queens leads the series, 10-5. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Curry Arena.

Click below for the postgame thoughts of Royals head coach Bart Lundy.