CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Daniel Carr poured in a career-high 33 points, as the top-seeded Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (30-4, 19-1 SAC), defeated fourth-seeded Catawba College (25-8, 14-6 SAC), 96-93, on Sunday night at the Levine Center. The win advanced the Royals to the Southeast Regional Championship Game for the third consecutive season and secured a third-straight 30-win season.

Shaun Willett scored 19 with eight rebounds while Lewis Diankulu and Van Turner Jr. followed with 11 points apiece.

Queens opened 4-for-4 from outside and took its largest lead of 12 points, 22-10, with 11:47 left in the first, when Carr hit his first of a career-high five made 3-point field goals.

Catawba countered with a 14-4 run that cut the Queens lead to 26-24, with 7:05 to play in the first, on a Jordan McElveen lay-in. But Queens recovered, stretched the lead to 11 points, 42-31, on a Blake Morrow jumper with 1:31 remaining in the half, and took a nine-point lead into halftime, 44-35.

The Royals played from in front in the second half, again pushing the lead to as many as 12 points with 16:25 left, until the Indians tied the score, 71-71, on a Malik Constantine 3-pointer from the left corner with 6:33 remaining. But Carr answered with a 3, helping Queens regain the lead, 74-71, just 30 seconds later.

The Royals remained in front and led 91-89 when a personal foul by Catawba's Terrence Whitfield led to a verbal altercation in which multiple offsetting technical fouls were assessed. Queens continued to convert at the line to keep its slim lead. Up 96-93 with four seconds left, Catawba's Marcell Haskett attempted a contested left-wing 3 to tie the score at the buzzer but came up short.

In total, Queens shot 52.5 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from 3-point range. The Royals outrebounded the Indians, 40-32, and held Catawba to 43.1-percent shooting and 15.8 percent from 3 (3-19).

Malik Constantine led Catawba with 24 points and Jameel Taylor added 23.

The game featured 59 combined personal fouls. Queens shot 76.5 percent from the free throw line (26-34) while Catawba shot 81 percent (34-42).

Queens will meet second-seeded Augusta University in the Southeast Regional Championship game on Tuesday night. Opening tipoff at the Levine Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are $10, $5 for children (17 and under), senior citizens (62 and older) and college students with their school ID. For more information, visit the official tournament page. Live play-by-play coverage will be available on the Queens Sports Network.