OPENING TIP
Score: Queens 85 | Northern Arizona 78
Records: Queens (20-13 overall, 11-7 ASUN) | Northern Arizona (18-16 overall, 8-10 Big Sky)
Location: Ocean Arena (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
 
THE SHORT STORY
In the first round of the 2025 Purple College Basketball Invitational, the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team knocked off Northern Arizona University behind a stellar 56-percent shooting performance from the Royals. Nine different Royals recorded a bucket as Queens reached the 20-win mark for the first time in Division 1 program history.

BY THE NUMBERS
-Sharpshooter Chris Ashby made history on Sunday evening burying six three-pointers to break the single-season school record set by Van Turner in 2019. The Houston native turned in a team-high 22 points as he's reached double figures in 12 of the last 13 games.
-Freshman Yoav Berman mailed in an incredible performance with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. The Tel Aviv, Israel native matched his season-high with four three-pointers on the night.
-Leo Colimerio was a force all game scoring 12 points while adding eight rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
-Center Malcolm Wilson dominated the paint scoring eight points on 4-of-5 shooting while grabbing six rebounds and blocking a pair of shots.
-Bryce Cash packed the stat sheet with four points, five rebounds, and a game-high six assists. The Charlotte native also contributed a block and a steal on the defensive end.
-The Royals bench consisting of Nasir Mann, DJ Shine, and Maban Jabriel combined to score 12 points on 50-percent shooting while grabbing eight rebounds and facilitating four dimes. Mann dished out a career-high three assists in the win.
-Carson Towt turned in a 22-point and 13-rebound double-double for the Lumberjacks.
-Northern Arizona managed to hang around by forcing 13 turnovers and scoring 17 points off those miscues by the Royals.

NOTABLE MOMENTS
-Queens set the tone early jumping out to an 8-2 lead within the first three minutes of action. A tip-in layup from Malcolm Wilson capped off a 6-0 run during that span. However, the Lumberjacks sparked a quick 8-3 run to get right back in the game trailing 11-10.
-The remainder of the first half would be a battle seeing four ties and eight lead changes with the largest lead being six by the Royals with 1:11 to go in the half.
-Similar to the first half, the Royals jumped on the Lumberjacks to open the half sparking a 12-4 run to grab a 12 point lead with 15:50 to go. During that surge, sharpshooter Chris Ashby found his groove connecting on three shots from the perimeter to spark the run.
-Just two minutes later, Queens ripped off another 13-1 run to extend their lead to the largest of the game at 21. Freshman Yoav Berman sparked the rally with a layup and a three-pointer while Maban Jabriel and Chris Ashby capped off the run with a pair of threes.
-Northern Arizona would not go away putting together a late 7-1 run, but the deficit proved to be too significant as the Royals held off the Lumberjacks comeback efforts to clinch the opening round victory.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-Queens was scorching hot from the perimeter connecting on 12 threes, the most since February 18^th at Central Arkansas.
-Malcolm Wilson increased his season block total to 114 and sits three away from breaking Moustapha Diou's single-season record set back in 2003.
-The Royals reached the 20-win mark for the first time in Division 1 program history, and the 19^th time in school history.

NEXT UP
Queens will turn their attention to Cleveland State University in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Purple College Basketball Invitational. The Royals and Vikings will square off on Monday, March 24^th at 4:00 p.m. inside the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. The game will be broadcast on FloCollege and fans can purchase their tickets here. The quarterfinals matchup will mark the first between the two programs with Cleveland State representing the Horizon League. The Vikings posted a 21-12 record this season, and 14-6 mark in league play as they made an appearance in the conference tournament semifinals.
 
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.