Postgame Interview with Bart Lundy

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Down by 15 with 15:30 to play, the 19^th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (11-2, 4-0 SAC) recovered and defeated Tusculum University (3-6, 0-3 SAC), 77-62, on Sunday evening at Pioneer Arena. The Royals held the Pioneers to 17.6-percent shooting in the second half, while allowing just 21 second-half points, to pick up their sixth-straight win, and their 10^th in the last 11 games.

Shaun Willett led Queens with 21 points and a career-high 18 rebounds to notch his NCAA-leading 10^th double-double of the season. Van Turner Jr. added 18 points on 5-for-10 3-point shooting. Lewis Diankulu scored 10 points with seven rebounds.

Queens fell behind 7-0 at the start of the game after turning the ball over three times in its first four possessions. The Royals did not score for the first 3:30 of the game, until Daniel Carr connected on a jumper with 16:30 remaining in the opening period to make the score 7-2.

In total, Queens committed 12 first-half turnovers and shot just 38.5 percent from the floor in the first, while allowing Tusculum to shoot 53.3 percent.

The Pioneers took a 13-point lead into the locker room after Donovan Donaldson hit a step-back jumper at the first-half buzzer to give Tusculum a 41-28 lead. Donaldson scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the first half.

In the second, Tusculum's lead stretched to 15 twice, before Queens used an 11-0 run to pull the game within two scores, 50-46. The run started with a layup by Diankulu, featured six points from Willett, and a 3-pointer from Turner.

Queens took its first lead on a Diankulu layup with 9:19 remaining. The lead quickly stretched to 11 points, 63-52, with 5:19 left after Carr scored on a fastbreak layup and completed the three-point play at the free throw line.

In a span of just more than 10 minutes, from the 15:30 mark to the 5:19 mark of the second half, Queens went on a 28-2 run that featured a scoring drought of more than six minutes for Tusculum.

The lead hit its peak of 16 points, 70-54, when Kenny Dye hit a jumper in the paint with 3:25 to play.

In the second half, the Royals shot 70.8 percent from the floor, outscoring the Pioneers 26-6 in the paint. For the game, Queens outrebounded Tusculum 41-30.

The Royals return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 19, at home versus Coker College in the final game before the holiday break. Tickets are $6 and all Queens students will receive free admission with their Queens ID. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Live play-by-play coverage will be available on the Queens Sports Network.