GAFFNEY, S.C. – The outcome was never in doubt for the No. 10/10 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team as the Royals opened South Atlantic Conference play with a 66-58 victory over Limestone University on Wednesday night. Sophomore Gavin Rains led the way with a career-high 20 points to go along with 14 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
 
Queens (2-1, 1-0 SAC) never trailed in the contest, holding a 54-31 advantage on the boards, including 22 on the offensive end that led to 19 second chance points. In addition to his double-double performance, Rains made 62.5 percent (10-of-16) of his shots from the floor and had nine offensive rebounds.
 
The Royals opened the game with six unanswered points and led 17-6 with 10:37 to play in the opening half following back-to-back baskets from junior Kenny Dye. A layup from Rains with just over two minutes to play in the half gave Queens its largest lead of the half, 32-12, as the Royals led 35-18 at intermission.
 
Limestone (0-1, 0-1 SAC) cut the Queens lead to single digits, 39-30, within the first five minutes of the second half. The Saints got within three points of tying the score with 10:36 to play, but consecutive layups from Rains and junior Malcolm Stevenson stopped the run and extended the lead to seven points with 10 minutes remaining.
 
A Stevenson layup with 8:34 on the clock put the Royals up double digits once again before Limestone quickly cut the deficit back to single digits. The Saints hung around late, but Dye and Stevenson combined to make 6-of-8 free throws in the final 1:05 to secure the road win.
 
Stevenson scored 20 points of his own to go along with seven rebounds, while Dye scored 11 points and made 5-of-6 free throw attempts. Sophomore Jay'Den Turner pulled down 13 rebounds in the contest, one shy of matching his career-high, and led the team with four assists.
 
Queens returns to the court on Saturday, December 5 to host rival Wingate University in the team's home opener from Curry Arena at 2 p.m.