HARROGATE, Tenn. – Led by 13 rebounds from Gavin Rains, 12 points from Jermaine Patterson, and 11 points apiece from Daniel Carr and Jachai Taylor, the Royals' second-half comeback effort came up short, as the No. 11/12 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (7-2, 2-1 SAC) fell to No. 7/8 Lincoln Memorial University (9-1, 4-0 SAC), 73-64, on Saturday at Tex Turner Arena.

After Queens took a 3-0 lead in the game's first minute, Lincoln Memorial answered with a 15-1 run sparked by seven consecutive points by Courvoisier McCauley to take a 15-4 lead with 13:26 remaining in the first half.

LMU led for the rest of the half, stretching the margin to 20 points, 39-19, after Devin Whitfield's left-corner 3-pointer with 2:23 remaining in the frame. The Railsplitters led 39-21 at halftime.

In the first half, Lincoln Memorial shot 48.4 percent from the field and held Queens to 24.2-percent shooting and 18.8 percent from the 3-point line (3-16).

After exchanging field goals to start the second half, the Royals cut the deficit to 10, 47-37, on Peanut Cunningham's jumper with 11:46 remaining.

Queens continued to surge and with 7:54 left, the gap closed to seven points, 52-45, after Patterson hit one of two free throws. On the next possession, after Patterson nearly forced a turnover, Whitfield fed McCauley near the rim, who completed a three-point play, giving LMU a 55-45 edge.

After trailing by double figures again, Queens once more cut the Lincoln Memorial lead to seven, 71-64, on a jumper in the key by Patterson in the game's final minute. However, after forcing an LMU turnover, McCauley rebounded a missed jumper by Kenny Dye to seal the win with 33 seconds left.

McCauley led the Splitters with a game-high 26 points. Cameron Henry and Julius Brown each scored 12, and Whitfield finished with seven points and seven rebounds. For the game, LMU shot 51 percent from the field, 37 percent from the beyond the arc, and 86.7 percent from the free-throw line.

Queens failed to complete the comeback despite outrebounding Lincoln Memorial, 39-34, and winning the turnover battle, 21-17. In the second half, the Royals outscored the Railsplitters, 43-34, and shot 44.4 percent from the field.

The Royals return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 18, at Coker University. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Live play-by-play coverage will be available on the Queens Sports Network.