MARS HILL, N.C. – Up one on the final possession of the game, the 25^th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (22-6, 17-5 SAC) generated a timely defensive stop to edge Mars Hill University (12-16, 10-12 SAC), 72-71, on Saturday at Stanford Arena. Gavin Rains led with a career-high 18 points and career-high 18 rebounds as Queens overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to extend its season-best winning streak to eight games.

Jamari Smith followed with 16 points and six rebounds as Daniel Carr added 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The Lions jumped out to an early 18-9 lead after an 8-0 run with 13:55 remaining in the first. After a timeout, the Royals responded with an 11-0 run, including back-to-back 3's by Jermaine Patterson, and took a 20-18 advantage with 11:21 to go in the half.

Mars Hill answered with a 10-0 run to again stretch the lead to 28-21, with 8:17 left in the first. The Lions led by five at halftime, 44-39.

To start the second half, Mars Hill opened up its largest lead, 56-45, after a jumper by Ja'Shawn Brooks with 16:19 remaining. Carr responded with five-straight points to pull Queens within two scores, 56-50, with 15:14 left.

Shortly after, a 6-0 run by Queens, including four points by Smith, tied the game, 58-58, with 9:09 to play. Moments later, the Royals took their first lead since the 10:27 mark of the first half, 62-60, on a layup by Rains with 7:08 remaining.

On the next possession Mars Hill countered and a 3-pointer by Brooks briefly put the Lions back in front, 63-62, with 6:25 to go. However, Queens answered and opened up its largest lead of the game, 70-65, after a three-point play by Carr with just 2:24 left.

With 39 seconds on the clock, a layup by Brooks pulled Mars Hill within one, 72-21. After a missed left-wing 3-pointer by Van Turner Jr. on the ensuing possession, the Lions had the ball with 15 seconds to play. As the clock winded down, Brooks drove right and fed a pass to Justen Hartfield in the right corner. However, Hartfield could not release a potentially game-winning shot before the final whistle.

Queens shot 42.4 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from the 3-point line (6-22), and 47.6 percent at the free-throw line (10-21). The Royals outrebounded the Lions, 49-26, and outscored them in the paint, 44-20.

Mars Hill shot 41.5 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from distance (10-28), and 94.4 percent at the free-throw line (17-18). Nassyr Daniel led the Lions with 17 points and eight rebounds. Brooks also scored 17 points and Matthew Powell followed with 14.

The Royals cliched the No. 2 seed in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament and will host seventh-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne University (14-13, 10-12 SAC) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday night at the Levine Center. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live play-by-play coverage will be available on the Queens Sports Network.