CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Following a pair of thrilling overtime games in the Bluegrass State, the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team is set to return to Curry Arena for their final two home regular season games. The Royals are set to welcome Central Arkansas on Tuesday night for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off. The game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus. Tuesday night is a pivotal game for the Royals as they are playing for important seeding after clinching their third straight trip to the ASUN Tournament.
 
GAMEDAY GUIDE VS. CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Curry Arena (Charlotte, N.C.)
Watch (ESPN Plus)
Stats (StatBroadcast)
Queens Game Notes
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THE MATCHUP
Queens and Central Arkansas are set to meet for the fourth time in Division 1, and the second time this season after squaring off 13 days ago in Conway. The Royals took down the Bears in that last meeting behind a career performance from Chris Ashby. The sharpshooter buried a Division 1 program record nine three-pointers en route to 27 points. Queens controlled the glass 42-39 and held Central Arkansas to a 1-for-21 clip from downtown.

SCOUTING THE ROYALS (16-10 overall, 9-4 ASUN)

• Queens enters Tuesday night coming off a tough 86-80 overtime loss at Eastern Kentucky on Saturday night. The Colonels extended their winning streak to seven straight games by overcoming a 14-point second half deficit. Eastern Kentucky was scorching hot from the perimeter connecting on 13 shots from deep. Despite the loss, senior Jaxon Pollard notched his second double-double of the season with a career-high 16 points and 11 rebounds.
• The Royals clinched their third straight trip to the ASUN Tournament last Thursday with a thrilling overtime win at Bellarmine. With four games remaining in the regular season, Queens sits tied for fifth place with FGCU at 9-5 in league play. The Royals remaining four opponents have a combined 24-32 record.
• Since joining the ASUN in 2022, Queens has surpassed their projected finish every season as they work on their best finish in three seasons. In their first season, the Royals were picked to finish 13^th and finished ninth. Last season, Queens was picked to finish 10^th and turned in an eighth-place finish.
• Queens suffered their first loss of the season last game when leading with 5:00 minutes to go. Prior to that, the Royals had rattled off 16 straight wins when leading down the stretch.
• The Royals are four wins away from hitting the 20-win mark in Division 1. Queens has reached that plateau 18 times in program history, all of which were in Division 2.
• Queens returns home to their den where they are 8-4 this season, and 255-84 all-time.
• Fresno State transfer Leo Colimerio is 24 points away from reaching 1,000 career points. The graduate student recorded 602 points across four seasons with the Bulldogs and leads the Royals in scoring this season with 13.9 points per game. Colimerio has made a statement in ASUN play averaging 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, all of which rank top 10 in the league.
• Sharpshooter Chris Ashby has been on a tear from the perimeter averaging 18.6 points on 4.4 made threes per game over the last five games. During that span, Ashby buried a Division 1 program record nine threes at Central Arkansas. The Houston native turned in a career-high 30 points at Bellarmine to help Queens clinch their spot in the ASUN Tournament. Ashby ranks second all-time in career three-pointers made as he looks to become the first player in Division 1 program history to make 100 threes in a season.
• The nation's leading shot blocker Malcolm Wilson is averaging 3.4 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 Brown, Marshall, Grand Canyon, LSU, and Little Rock.
• The Royals bench has been a key to success ranking 15^th in Division 1, and leading the ASUN in scoring with 31.67 points per game. Key contributors have been Yoav Berman (7.8 PPG), Jaxon Pollard (7.9 PPG), and Nasir Mann (7.4). Across the squad, nine different Royals are averaging at least 5.0 points per game.
• Rebounding wins championships and Queens is second in the ASUN in total rebounds with 38.1 per game. The Royals are 14-3 on the season when they outrebound their opponent.
• Sophomore Bryce Cash has filled the stat sheet each night as the Charlotte native is averaging 5.3 points, 4.3 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.
• Nasir Mann is coming off a great week in the Bluegrass State where he averaged 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game. The junior dropped a career-high 19 points while grabbing seven big rebounds against the Knights.
• Kalib Mathews continues to flourish in his final season in the Queen City. The Franklinton native has appeared in the third most games in program history at 131 and is averaging 7.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.0 steal per game.
• 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 BEARS (7-20 overall, 3-11 ASUN)

• Central Arkansas enters Tuesday night 7-20 overall and 3-11 in ASUN play. The Bears are coming off a convincing 84-83 overtime victory against North Florida on Saturday night.
• Jon Shulman is in his first season at the helm of the Central Arkansas program. The former Chattanooga and Alabama Huntsville head coach is 264-205 over his 15 year career.
• The 2025 season has been a tale of two destinations for the Bears as they are 7-6 at home, but 0-13 on the road this year.
• The Bears rank 11th in the ASUN in scoring averaging 70.0 points per game while allowing 77.4 points on the other end.
• Central Arkansas is not afraid to shoot the deep ball ranking 11th in the nation with nearly 30 attempts per game. The struggle for the Bears has been cashing those opportunities as they are shooting 29 percent from deep. Against the Royals a few weeks back, Central Arkansas shot 1-for-21 from the perimeter.
• The Bears crash the boards well ranking fourth in the ASUN in rebounding, and offensive boards per game.
• Freshman phenom Layne Taylor was off to an incredible start to his career before suffering a season-ending injury. The rookie was averaging a team-high 17.4 points per game while adding 3.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest.
• Central Arkansas has played the last five games without their second leading scorer in Elias Cato. The senior is averaging 15.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
• Central Arkansas was picked to finish 11th in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll following a 9-23 season last year. The Bears lost the ASUN Freshman of the Year, Tucker Anderson to Utah State in the transfer portal.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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