LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team will head to the Bluegrass State for a Thursday night showdown at Bellarmine. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus. Queens will be looking to clinch their third straight ASUN Tournament berth with a victory over the Knights as the postseason race commences.
 
GAMEDAY GUIDE AT BELLARMINE
Date: Saturday, February 13, 2025
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Freedom Hall (Louisville, Ky.)
Watch (ESPN Plus)
Stats (Sidearm)
Queens Game Notes
Tickets

THE MATCHUP
Queens and Bellarmine are set to meet for the fourth time as members of the ASUN, and the first time this season. Queens hold a 2-1 advantage over the Knights with an 85-75 victory in their last meeting. The Royals have made the trip to Louisville once and escaped with a 75-74 victory on January 5, 2023. The series history shows that 2-of-3 meetings have been decided by two possessions. In their only meeting last season, Queens took down Bellarmine in the Queen City on Homecoming behind a 24-point effort from former Queens standout AJ McKee. Queens capitalized on their opportunities converting 12 Knights turnovers into 11 points while cashing in 27-of-33 attempts from the charity stripe.

SCOUTING THE ROYALS (15-10 overall, 8-4 ASUN)

• Queens enters Thursday night following a tough 94-81 loss against the ASUN preseason favorites in Lipscomb on Homecoming. The visiting Bisons couldn't miss in the second half dropping 61 points on 65-percent shooting, the best marks in a single half by a Queens opponent. Veteran Leo Colimerio paced the offense with 26 points while adding four assists.
• This season, the ASUN has been one of the premier conferences in the country with four teams tied for the league lead heading into the new week. The mark is the most by any conference with the Ohio Valley (3), Southern (3), Big 12 (2), Big Sky (2), Big West (2), and SEC (2) closely behind.
• Queens enters Thursday night tied for fifth place in the ASUN as the top of the conference has a four-way tie between Lipscomb, North Alabama, Jacksonville, and FGCU. The Royals will clinch their third straight ASUN Tournament berth with a victory on Thursday night.
• The Royals have flipped the page on the road this season going 6-6 away from Curry Arena after posting a 1-15 record last season. The mark on the road this season is tied for the third-best record amongst ASUN schools.
• Queens reached the 15-win mark for the second time in Division 1, and 29^th time in program history.
• Chris Ashby moved into second all-time in career three-pointers made surpassing Todd Withers and Reginald Hopkins. The sharpshooter is looking to become the fourth player in school history to make 100 threes in a season as he currently sits at 80. Ashby is one of the league's top perimeter shooters attempting the most shots from downtown and burying the fifth most.
• The nation's leading shot blocker Malcolm Wilson is averaging 3.5 blocks per game. The Georgetown transfer has swatted the second-most shots in a single season. His performance protecting the rim has Queens ranked tied for 16^th in the country with LSU.
• The Royals bench has been a key to success ranking 14^th in Division 1, and leading the ASUN in scoring with 31.84 points per game. Key contributors have been Yoav Berman (8.1 PPG), Jaxon Pollard (7.5 PPG), and Nasir Mann (6.8). Across the squad, 10 different Royals are averaging at least 5.0 points per game.
• Queens has shown their ability to close out games as they are 15-0 this season when leading with five minutes to go. Queens fell to 13-1 this season in games when leading at the half after Lipscomb stormed back on Saturday.
• Rebounding wins championships and Queens leads the ASUN in total rebounds with 38.2 per game. The Royals are 14-2 on the season when they outrebound their opponent.
• Despite ranking 11^th in free throw percentage in the ASUN, the Royals are very successful when getting to the free throw line. This season, Queens is 9-2 on the year when attempting more free throws than their opponent.
• Fresno State transfer Leo Colimerio has wreaked havoc on the ASUN in his first season as he leads the Royals in scoring while ranking second in rebounds and third in assists. In conference play, the Sao Paulo, Brazil native is averaging 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. Colimerio is 55 points away from reaching 1,000 in his career after netting 602 points at Fresno State.
• Sophomore Bryce Cash has filled the stat sheet each night as the Charlotte native is averaging 5.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and a team-high 4.0 assists per game. The unanimous All-ASUN freshman team selection from a season ago has dropped double figures in four games this season, including the last outing against Lipscomb.
• Queens was picked to finish ninth in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll. Since joining the league in 2022, the Royals have finished at least two positions higher than projected and claimed their spot in back-to-back ASUN Tournaments.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS (3-22 overall, 0-12 ASUN)

• Bellarmine enters Thursday night 3-22 overall and 0-12 in conference play. The Knights are coming off a 73-64 loss at Jacksonville on Saturday night.
• Scott Davenport is in his 20th season at the helm of the Knights program. Under his direction, Bellarmine is 424-193 and the all-time winningest coach in school history. In 2021-22, Davenport led the Knights to an ASUN Tournament title despite being ineligible for the NCAA Tournament due to the NCAA's reclassification moratorium. The 2011 NCAA Division 2 National Coach of the Year has led the program through the transition process as Bellarmine is officially cleared by the NCAA for postseason competition.
• Defense has been the Knights downfall this season as Bellarmine is allowing 80.8 points per game, the 14th worst mark in Division 1 men's basketball. In conference play, league opponents average 81.9 points per game, the second most in the ASUN.
• While Bellarmine doesn't get to the free throw line a lot, the Knights are very efficient when they do cashing in 78 percent of their attempts, the 12th-best clip in the country.
• Thursday night will be a tale of the glass as Queens (38.2) leads the league in rebounds per game while Bellarmine (29.3) ranks last.
• Junior Jack Karasinski leads the Bellarmine scoring with 16.3 points per game on 54 percent shooting. The Knights are also paced by Billy Smith and Ben Johnson who are averaging double figures.
• Bellarmine was picked to finish 10th in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll following an 8-23 record, and 4-12 mark in league play.

 
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