Postgame Interview with Bart Lundy

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In a game prolonged by a second-half power outage, the No. 24 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (11-3, 6-2 SAC) defeated Carson-Newman University (5-9, 2-6 SAC), 84-72, on Saturday at Holt Fieldhouse. Daniel Carr led the Royals with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals, and a block. Jermaine Patterson followed with 15 points, Van Turner Jr. scored 14, Jamari Smith scored 13, and Gavin Rains corralled 11 rebounds.

Queens jumped out to an early 12-point lead, 18-6, after a layup by Kenny Dye capped a 14-3 run with 15:32 remaining in the first half. However, Carson-Newman recovered with a 16-3 run sparked by three consecutive 3-pointers by Zailan Peeler, giving CN a 22-21 lead with 10:50 to go in the first.

After the lead changed hands four times, Queens used a late first-half 6-0 run featuring layups by Patterson, Turner, and Patterson again, to take a 40-33 lead with 2:21 left in the frame. The Royals led 44-37 at halftime.

In the second half, after Queens stretched the lead to 16 points multiple times, Carson-Newman mounted a 9-0 run in which the Royals missed six consecutive field goal attempts, pulling the Eagles within seven, 71-64, with 5:56 to play.

But moments later, with 4:42 remaining in the game, local storms knocked the power out in the arena. After a delay that lasted longer than an hour, play resumed with Gavin Rains at the free-throw line shooting one-and-one.

Rains drilled both free throws, giving the Royals a 73-64 edge, as Queens sealed off the victory.

The Royals shot 46.3 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from 3-point range, and 68.2 percent at the free-throw line. Queens outrebounded Carson-Newman, 37-29, and only committed nine turnovers, finishing with a +7 turnover margin.

Carson-Newman's Tripp Davis led all scorers with 26 points on 11 of 13 shooting at the free-throw line. Peeler scored 14 and EJ Bush scored 11 with nine rebounds.

The Eagles shot 42.9 percent from the field, 42.3 percent from the 3-point line, and 82.6 percent at the free-throw line.

The Royals return to action on Wednesday night at the Levine Center versus No. 16/22 CatawbaCollege. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Live play-by-play coverage will be available on the Queens Sports Network.