ANDERSON, S.C. – Down by 14 with less than seven minutes to play, the Royals' comeback effort fell short and the 17th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (14-5, 9-4 SAC) fell to Anderson University (12-7, 7-6 SAC), 86-82, on Wednesday night at Abney Athletic Center. The game featured 13 lead changes and nine ties, as Queens dropped a second consecutive game for the first time since February of 2016.

Jermaine Patterson paced six Royals in double figures with 16 points. Jay'Den Turner scored 15 points with six rebounds and Daniel Carr totaled 14 points with seven rebound and four assists. Van Turner Jr., Jachai Taylor, and Jamari Smith each added 11 points, as Smith posted his second career double-double with 12 rebounds.

Early on, Anderson took a 19-14 lead on a four-point play by Shawn Benard with 13:25 left in the first half. The Trojans pushed the lead to 30-17, their largest of the first half, on a Quin Nottingham jumper with 8:29 left.

After Queens took a timeout, the Royals surged in front, 31-30, via a 14-0 run. Van Turner Jr. scored six points with a 3-pointer and three free throws to close the gap to 30-23, with 6:27 to go. Then moments later, a layup by Jay'Den Turner gave the Royals the edge with 4:24 until halftime. After the lead changed hands multiple times in the waning minutes of the first, Carr's jumper with 33 seconds until the break tied the score, 38-38, at halftime.

In the second half, Jay'Den Turner added four points to a 7-0 run that gave Queens a 52-49 lead with 12:17 left to play. However, Anderson recovered and took its largest lead of the game, 70-56, on a Crosby James free throw with 6:21 remaining.

The Royals quickly cut into the Trojans' lead and after a three-point play by Patterson, cut the deficit to five, 74-69, with only 2:33 left in the game.

With a minute to play, and down by six, Kenny Dye was called for a foul of Satchel Hester while a baseline inbounds pass with one second on the shot clock led to a quick shot attempt. Hester connected on both free throws, extending Anderson's lead and putting the Trojans ahead, 82-74.

On the next possession, after missing two free throws, Carr secured an offensive rebound and hit a 3 from the top of the key, pulling the Royals within five, 82-77, with 52 seconds remaining.

Then, after exchanging free throws, Patterson's steal and fast-break layup pulled Queens within two, 83-81, with 18 seconds left.

The Royals fouled Nottingham to extend the game, and after Nottingham hit one of two free throws, had the ball again, trailing 84-81. With 11 seconds to go, Smith missed a right-wing 3 that would have tied the game, however, Cunningham retrieved the offensive rebound and was immediately fouled, earning a trip to the free-throw line.

Cunningham hit one of two attempts, pulling Queens within two, 84-82. However, after fouling again to extend the game, Nottingham hit both free throws to seal the four-point win.

For the game, Queens shot 41.5 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from the 3-point line, and 73.3 percent at the free-throw line (22-30). The Royals outrebounded the Trojans, 43-34.

Anderson shot 47.5 percent from the floor and 29.2 percent from the 3-point line. The Trojans hit 21 of 29 attempts at the free-throw line (72.4%) and scored 18 points off of 13 Royals' turnovers.

Anderson's Nottingham led all scorers with 22 points, to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Benard followed with 19, James scored 16, and Alex Keel and Hester scored 10 apiece.

The Royals return to action on Saturday at home versus No. 2/2 Lincoln Memorial University (20-1, 12-0 SAC). Opening tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Live play-by-play coverage will be available on the Queens Sports Network.