OPENING TIP
Score: Queens 87 | West Georgia 68
Records: Queens (14-9 overall, 7-3 ASUN) | West Georgia (4-19 overall, 2-8 ASUN)
Location: Curry Arena (Charlotte, N.C.)
 
THE SHORT STORY
After going into the halftime break tied 28-28, the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team used a scorching hot second half to rally past West Georgia inside Curry Arena. Over the final 20 minutes of action, the Royals shot 74 percent from the field marking the best shooting half in a game in Division 1. Five different Royals poured in double figures for the fourth game this season, and the second straight game.
 
FROM COACH LEONARD
"I'm really proud of our second-half effort. We made a more concerted effort on the glass and win the 50-50 balls and that brought a lot of energy. I'm proud of how we handled that. Overall, I think we ended up wearing them down because of our depth. It took all 27 to wear them down, and I'm proud that we can do that."

BY THE NUMBERS
-Graduate student Leo Colimerio led the Royals with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting while adding eight rebounds and four assists.
-Sharpshooter Chris Ashby turned in 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including a 3-for-6 clip from downtown.
-Senior Kalib Mathews recorded double figures for the seventh game this season, and second straight with 10 points. The Franklinton native added two assists and a pair of steals to his line.
-Floor general Bryce Cash filled the stat sheet with six points, six rebounds, and five assists on the offensive side while adding two steals on defense.
-Jaxon Pollard was the catalyst for the second-half surge scoring 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting while adding two boards and two assists. The 13 points matched a career-high which he's hit four times this season.
-Junior Nasir Mann provided valuable minutes off the bench scoring 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting while adding five boards.
-The nation's leading shot blocker Malcolm Wilson continued his impressive season with five blocks and six rebounds. The 7-0 center has swatted five shots in 10 outings this season.
-Jordon Nevill made his 11^th career appearance and buried a three-pointer while freshman DJ Shine added four points in his 13^th appearance.
-Queens controlled the glass 35-28 and improved to 13-2 this season when outrebounding their opponent.
-Shelton Williams-Dryden led all scorers with 23 points while adding eight rebounds for the Wolves.

NOTABLE MOMENTS
-The visiting Wolves came out with pace and ripped off an early 7-0 run to grab a 9-4 lead with 14:43 remaining in the first half. West Georgia capitalized on seven first-half turnovers from the Royals with six points.
-The remainder of the opening half saw both offenses exchange buckets as the first 20 minutes saw eight ties and five lead changes. Leo Colimerio sparked the Queens offense with 10 first-half points while Malcolm Wilson locked down the paint with four early blocks.
-Leading 42-40 with 13:13 remaining in the game, the Royals sparked an 8-0 run over a minute by capitalizing on 4-of-4 field goals to extend their lead to the largest of the game at 10. A Nasir Mann and-one capped off the quick run.
-Coming out of a 30-second timeout called by West Georgia with 11:42 remaining, Jaxon Pollard ripped off an 8-0 run by himself connecting on a pair of three-pointers to extend the Queens lead to 16 points.
 
FROM JAXON POLLARD
"The goal here is to win a conference championship and momentum is huge in conference. We just need to build on this week and take it on the road and put together another really good week of Queens Basketball."

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-The Queens bench continued their dominance pouring in 37 points. The Royals rank top 15 in the country in bench scoring as their depth continues to wreak havoc on opposing teams.
-The 59 second-half points from the Royals were the most scored in a single half this season.
-Queens distributed the basketball efficiently totaling 19 assists as the Royals lead the ASUN in dimes per game.
-The Royals improved to 9-1 this season, and 29-11 in Division 1 when reaching 80 points.
-Queens improved to 3-0 all-time against West Georgia with their previous meetings coming in Division 2.

NEXT UP
Queens will travel to Central Arkansas on Wednesday, February 5th, for a midweek tilt. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET from Farris Center in Conway. Fans can catch all the action on ESPN Plus. Tickets can be purchased on the Central Arkansas 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.