OPENING TIP
Score: Mercer 84 | Queens 65
Records: Mercer (5-6) | Queens (6-7)
Location: Hawkins Arena (Macon, Ga.)
 
The Short Story: The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team was unable to overcome first-half shooting woes falling at Mercer 84-65 on Tuesday night.

BY THE NUMBERS
-Junior AJ McKee reached double figures for the 13^th straight game with a 16-point effort. The Charlotte native connected on 5-of-11 shots from the field.
-Floor general Deyton Albury packed the stat sheet with a 17-point, four rebounds, and two assists performance. The Nassau native matched his career-high connecting on 9-of-11 free throw opportunities.
-BJ McLaurin and Chris Ashby earned their 13^th starts of the year and combined to score 18 points and bring down eight rebounds.
-Jaxon Pollard and Kalib Mathews earned their first starts of the year for the Royals. Pollard poured in five points across 16 minutes of work.
-Queens lost the battle on the boards 38-31 and fell to 1-4 this year when being outrebounded.
-Jalyn McCreary and Jalen Cobb each recorded a double-double for the Bears. McCreary led the game with 30 points and 12 rebounds while Cobb added 14 points and 10 boards.

NOTABLE MOMENTS
-Mercer capitalized on a Queens eight-minute scoring drought from the field with a 20-4 run. The Bears would extend their run to 27-4 increasing their lead to the largest of the first half at 42-21.
-Trailing 54-34 with 14:01 remaining in the game, the Royals sparked a brief 6-0 run to cut the deficit back to 14 at 54-40.
-The Bears went on a five-minute run in the second half where they connected on 8-of-8 field goal opportunities.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-The 25 percent shooting mark in the first half was a season-low in a single half from the Royals.
-Queens struggled from the charity stripe shooting 65 percent on the night.
-The loss dropped the Royals record on the road to 0-6 this year.

NEXT UP
Queens will return to action on Friday, December 22^nd when they travel to #18 Clemson University. The meeting will be the first regular-season matchup between the Royals and Tigers. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. from Littlejohn Coliseum and the game will be broadcast on the ACC Network and ESPN Plus. Fans can purchase their tickets in advance by visiting the Clemson Athletics website.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow Queens Men's Basketball on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok for news and updates throughout the season. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media to stay up to date on all the Royals sports in action.