OPENING TIP
Score: Queens 92 | Bellarmine 87
Records: Queens (16-10 overall, 9-4 ASUN) | Bellarmine (3-23 overall, 0-13 ASUN)
Location: Knights Hall (Louisville, Ky.)
 
THE SHORT STORY
Behind career-high performances from Chris Ashby and Nasir Mann, the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team pulled out a gritty 92-87 overtime victory at Bellarmine University on Thursday night to clinch their third straight ASUN Tournament berth. Ashby paced all scorers with a career-high 30 points while Mann added 19 pivotal points off the bench.

BY THE NUMBERS
-Sharpshooter Chris Ashby led all scorers with a career-high 30 points on 7-of-13 shooting from downtown. Ashby set the tone with 15 first half points on 5-of-6 shooting from the perimeter. The Houston native has buried 5+ shots from the perimeter in seven games this season as he continues to be one of the nation's top perimeter shooters.
-Junior Nasir Mann mailed in his best performance of the season as a Royal with a career-high 19 points on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting. The Gainesville, Florida native added seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal to his performance.
-Graduate student Leo Colimerio stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds, and six assists across 35 minutes of work.
-Charlotte native Bryce Cash facilitated the offense with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting while dishing out six dimes.
-Making his 126^th career appearance, senior Kalib Mathews added eight points, three rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal.
-Center Malcolm Wilson turned in an efficient first half with eight points on four slam dunks. The nation's leading shot blocker added two blocks to his line.
-The trio of Yoav Berman, Maban Jabriel, and Asjon Anderson combined to add eight points, four rebounds, and two assists off the bench.
-Queens shot 58 percent from the floor marking the second straight game that the Royals have eclipsed 50 percent.
-The Royals, leading the league in assists distributed 19 dimes on the night marking the 16^th game this season that Queens has recorded 15+ assists.
-Kenyon Goodin led Bellarmine with 28 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including a perfect 5-of-5 clip from the perimeter.

NOTABLE MOMENTS
-Queens opened the night hot connecting on six of their first seven shots from the field to take a 13-9 lead into the first media break. Malcolm Wilson paced the early offense with a pair of slam dunks as Queens broke down the Bellarmine zone.
-Trailing 16-11 with 11:40 remaining in the first half, the Knights sparked an 8-2 run connecting on three straight shots to cut the deficit back to one. However, Queens answered with a 10-2 run of their own behind a pair of three-pointers from Chris Ashby to extend their lead back to nine.
-Leading 52-49 with 12:35 remaining in the game, the visiting Royals ripped off a 13-0 run capped off by a Nasir Mann three-pointer to force a Bellarmine timeout. Prior to the run, the Knights were hanging around and closed the deficit to two.
-Coming out of the Bellarmine timeout, the Knights strung together a quick 8-0 run behind a pair of Billy Smith three-pointers to cut the Royals lead back down to eight heading into the under-12 media timeout.
-Trailing 74-72 with under two minutes to go, Bellarmine sparked a 6-0 run to grab their first lead of the game with 21 seconds remaining. Queens took a timeout and drew up their final play which saw freshman Yoav Berman drive to the rim and convert the layup to tie the game. With seconds left, Bellarmine got a look from the perimeter and a follow-up tip-in layup, but both shots rimmed out as the game went into overtime.
-Both offenses exchanged buckets in overtime before four straight free throws from Kalib Mathews and Chris Ashby sealed the 92-87 road victory.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-The victory clinched the Royals third straight trip to the ASUN Tournament. Queens was picked to finish ninth in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll and currently sit tied for third with five league games remaining.
-The 30-point effort from Chris Ashby was the second most points scored in a single game this season.
-Queens improved to 3-1 all-time against the Knights, and 2-0 in Louisville.
-After taking a lead into the final five minutes of regulation and pulling out the win, Queens improved to 16-0 this season when leading with five minutes to go.

NEXT UP
Queens will remain in Kentucky and prepare for a Saturday evening showdown with Eastern Kentucky this weekend. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus. Fans can purchase their tickets in advance by visiting the Queens Athletics website. Saturday will mark the first meeting this season, and the fourth all-time between the Royals and Colonels with EKU holding a 2-1 series lead.
 
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.