CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Shaun Willett recorded his NCAA-leading 25^th double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, as the No. 7/6 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (28-3, 19-1 SAC) downed eighth-seeded Carson-Newman University (15-14, 8-12 SAC), 84-75, in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Championships on Wednesday night at the Levine Center. Daniel Carr followed with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting, Blake Morrow scored 13, and Jermaine Patterson added 10 points, as the Royals picked up their ninth-straight win.

After a back-and-forth turnover-ridden opening 13 minutes of play, Queens stretched its lead to three possessions for the first time when Morrow connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, to give the Royals a 26-18 advantage with 6:35 remaining in the half. Fouled on the attempt, Morrow hit the ensuing free throw to complete the four-point play.

The run developed in a 10-2 stretch for Queens, capped by a Lewis Diankulu layup that forced Carson-Newman to take a time out, as the Royals led 32-20, with 5:18 remaining in the first.

The first-half lead hit 15, 40-25, after Morrow hit a pair of free throw with 2:06 left in the half. The Eagles countered with a brief spurt, but Kenny Dye's jumper in the paint at the first-half buzzer gave Queens a 12-point lead at the break, 44-32.

To open the second half, Carson-Newman cut the deficit to seven points, 46-39, on a Malik Abraham 3 with 17:15 to play. However, Queens answered with a 7-0 run, capped by a Willett jumper that gave the Royals a 53-39 edge with 15:10 left.

Queens led by double figures for the majority of the second half, extending the lead to as many as 17 points, but with 3:35 remaining, Abraham's steal and fastbreak dunk cut the Carson-Newman deficit to three scores, 75-66. However, the Eagles never pulled closer.

The Royals shot 48.4 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from the 3-point line, and prevailed despite committing 23 turnovers. Queens outrebounded Carson-Newman 39-24.

The Eagles shot 49 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from distance. They were led by 17 points from Mason Bates and 14 from Parker Role'.

Queens returns to action on Saturday versus fifth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne University in the conference semifinals. Opening tipoff from Timmons Arena at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, is scheduled for 5 p.m. Live play-by-play coverage will be available on the Queens Sports Network.