OPENING TIP
Score: Queens 81 | VMI 78
Records: Queens (4-5) | VMI (5-6)
Location: Cameron Hall (Lexington, Va.)
 
THE SHORT STORY
The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team turned in a gritty road performance inside a raucous Cameron Hall as the Royals took down VMI on Saturday afternoon. Queens set the tone in the first half shooting 60 percent from the floor before holding off a surging second-half VMI squad. With the win, Queens improved to 2-0 in the ASUN/SoCon challenge this year.

BY THE NUMBERS
-Graduate student Leo Colimerio paced the Royals with a team-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. Colimerio added a season-high seven boards and a career-high five assists across 31 minutes of action.
-Jaxon Pollard was relentless in the win totaling a career-high 13 points and eight rebounds across 21 minutes of work. The Cedar Hills, Utah native cashed in a career-high six field goals.
-Center Malcolm Wilson poured in a season-high 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting. Wilson added three rebounds and a steal.
-Newcomer Yoav Berman packed the stat sheet with 12 points, four rebounds, and a season-high four assists.
-Nasir Mann earned his first start as a Royal and produced six points, six rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
-Queens won the battle on the glass 38-21 against the Keydets, including a 12-6 margin on the offensive glass. The Royals turned those second-chance opportunities into 15 points.
-Rickey Bradley led all scorers with 19 points going 12-of-14 from the free-throw line.

NOTABLE MOMENTS
-Queens jolted out to a 15-4 lead to start the game which forced an early Keydets timeout. During that run, the Royals connected on 7-of-9 shots from the field to quiet the Cameron Hall crowd.
-VMI opened the second half on an 11-3 run to cut the deficit to 49-45. During that span, the Royals committed five turnovers.
-Despite VMI closing the deficit to one multiple times, the visiting Royals had an answer every time as they never trailed in the contest.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-Leo Colimerio has found his rhythm in recent weeks netting double figures in four straight games.
-Queens turned the ball over 21 times, the most since November 20, 2022, against Morgan State. The Keydets managed to convert those miscues into 25 points.
-The Royals shot a season-high 60 percent from the field while holding VMI to a 45 percent clip.
-Queens improved to 23-10 in Division 1, and 3-0 this season when eclipsing 80 points.
-Queens continued to show their ability to close out games improving to 19-0 in Division 1 non-conference games when they take the lead into the final five minutes.

NEXT UP
Queens will return to the court on Tuesday, December 10^th when the Royals host Carolina University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus. Queens and Carolina met for the first time last season and the Royals took down the Bruins 112-64 inside Curry Arena.
 
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.