HICKORY, N.C. – As time expired, Gavin Rains' layup rolled off the rim and the No. 16/24 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (14-4, 9-3 SAC) fell to Lenoir-Rhyne University (11-6, 7-5 SAC), 82-20, on Saturday at Shuford Gymnasium. The game featured 15 lead changes and eight ties, as the loss brought an end to the Royals' six-game winning streak.

Jamari Smith and Kenny Dye led the Royals with 18 points apiece. Daniel Carr scored 16 and Peanut Cunningham tied a career high with 11 points.

With 1:21 left to play, Queens faced its largest deficit of the game, 81-74, after Lenoir-Rhyne's Darius Simmons knocked down a pair of free throws. However, Dye raced down the floor to score a fastbreak lay-in, and after the Royals came up with a defensive stop with 43 seconds on the clock, Dye connected on a pair at the free-throw line, pulling Queens within one score, 81-78.

After the Royals forced a missed 3-pointer from Cooper Fowler with 17 seconds left, a foul by LR's RJ Gunn on the rebound put Dye at the line again with 14 seconds remaining. Again, Dye hit both free throws to complete a final-minute individual 6-0 run, and pull Queens within one, 81-80.

On the ensuing inbounds pass, Jay'Den Turner committed a backcourt foul to extend the game, followed by 1-for-2 trip at the line by Lenoir-Rhyne's Tyson McClain, which gave Queens the ball with the shot clock turned off and a chance to tie or win.

On the final possession, trailing 82-80, Dye drove and missed a layup, followed by an offensive rebound and missed lay-in from Peanut Cunningham, before the rebound was tipped out of bounds giving the Royals one last attempt off of a baseline inbounds pass. Rains' miss at the final buzzer was Queens' third chance to tie the game in the final seconds.

The Royals jumped out to the game's largest lead, 24-16, on a jumper by Dye with 11:10 to play in the first half. However, the Bears countered, and after a 3-pointer by Gunn capped a 16-3 run, LR took a 32-27 lead with 6:53 left in the frame. The Bears led 42-40 at halftime.

For the game, Queens shot 45.3 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from the 3-point line, and 77.8 percent at the free-throw line (14-18). The Royals outrebounded the Bears, 41-33.

Queens held Lenoir-Rhyne to 44.8 percent shooting and 32.4 percent 3-point shooting. However, via 25 personal fouls, the Bears shot 19 of 24 at the free throw line (79.2%).

LR's Simmons led all scorers with 30 points, 10 of which came at the free-throw line. Gunn followed with 21, McClain scored 17, and Fowler added 12.

The Royals return to action on Wednesday night at Anderson University (11-7, 6-6 SAC). Opening tipoff from the Abney Athletic Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Live play-by-play coverage will be available on the Queens Sports Network.