CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Van Turner Jr. and Kenny Dye netted season-highs with 26 and 23 points, respectively, as the 24^th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (10-3, 5-2 SAC) overcame a double-digit first-half deficit to defeat Newberry College (7-6, 3-4 SAC), 96-91, on Wednesday night at the Levine Center. Turner and Dye paced five Royals in double figures as Daniel Carr followed with 15 points, Jamari Smith scored 11 and Gavin Rains recorded his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

With the game tied 15-15 halfway through the first half, back-to-back 3-pointers by Marcus Ford and Luke Gibson gave Newberry a 21-15 lead with 9:05 to play in the frame. A few minutes later, a paint jumper from Quandeveon McCollum with 4:10 remaining in the first half gave the Wolves their largest lead of the game, 36-26.

However, consecutive 3's from Dye helped Queens end the first half on a 6-1 spurt that tightened the score. Queens trailed 43-38 at halftime.

In the second half, after tightening the deficit to one-point multiple times, the Royals tied the score, 56-56, on a 3-pointer by Turner with 14:52 left. On the ensuing possessions, consecutive backcourt steals led to successive fast-break scores by Dye and Rains that gave Queens a 60-56 lead with 14:24 to play.

After trading the lead again, Queens used a 10-0 run capped by another one Turner's eight 3-pointers to take a 77-65 with 8:35 left. But Newberry immediately followed with an 8-0 run, started by back-to-back 3's by Gibson and Ford, and capped by a layup from McCollum, pulling the Wolves within four, 77-73, with 6:13 to play.

In the game's final minute, Ford's last of seven made 3-pointers pulled Newberry within three, 94-91, with 12 seconds to go. After the Wolves fouled Kenny Dye hoping to extend the game, Dye steadily knocked down a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left, sealing the 96-91 victory. He finished the game on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting (2-2 3PT) and 5-for-5 at the free-throw line.

Ford led the Wolves with 24 points, closely followed by McCollum, who scored 21. Luke Gibson scored 17 points, TJ Brown had 10, and Angelo Sales Jr. scored nine with 11 rebounds.  As a team, Newberry shot 53.2 percent from the field, 44.1 percent from 3-point range, and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line.

Queens shot 52.3 percent from the floor, 35.5 percent from distance and 85 percent at the free-throw line. The Royals outrebounded the Wolves, 33-32, and committed a season-low eight turnovers.

The Royals return to action on Saturday, Jan. 11, at Carson-Newman University. Opening tipoff from Holt Fieldhouse in Jefferson City, Tennessee, is scheduled for 4 p.m. Live play-by-play coverage will be available on the Queens Sports Network.