OPENING TIP
Score: Cleveland State 88 | Queens 73
Records: Cleveland State (22-12 overall, 14-6 Horizon League) | Queens (20-14 overall, 11-7 ASUN)
Location: Ocean Arena (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
 
THE SHORT STORY
Coming off a first-round victory in the opening round of the 2025 Purple College Basketball Invitational, the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team ran into a hot Cleveland State program that took down the Royals in the quarterfinals 88-73 on Monday night. The Vikings rank 11^th in the nation in turnovers forced per game and capitalized on 15 miscues by Queens with 18 points. Despite the turnovers, five different Royals poured in double figures as freshman DJ Shine led the way with a career-high 12 points.

BY THE NUMBERS
-Center Malcolm Wilson was a factor on the block for the Royals scoring 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting while adding four rebounds, one assist, and a block.
-Graduate student Leo Colimerio totaled 11 points, five assists, and three boards as the Saol Paulo, Brazil native reached double figures in 27 games this season.
-Senior Kalib Mathews rounded out his incredible career with 10 points, three rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal across 24 minutes of action.
-Nasir Mann provided a spark off the bench for the Royals scoring 11 points, including a 6-of-8 mark from the free throw line. The Gainesville, Florida native added three boards and an assist to his line.
-Coming off the bench, Yoav Berman, Maban Jabriel, Jordon Nevill, and Asjon Anderson combined to score 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
-The Vikings defense held the Royals to a 4-for-12 mark from the perimeter marking a season-low.
-Taj Staveskie led all scorers with 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including a 4-of-7 mark from downtown.

NOTABLE MOMENTS
-Cleveland State jumped on the Royals quick sparking a 9-0 run to start the game and force a Queens timeout. During that run, the Vikings connected on four of their first six shots and capitalized on a pair of Queens turnovers with five points.
-The Vikings would spark another surge connecting on eight straight shots to extend their lead to 27-11 heading into the second media break. The Royals would come out of the break and chip away at the deficit sparking a 6-0 run while holding the Vikings to a four-minute scoring drought.
-Trailing 56-37 with 13:16 remaining, the Royals put together an 8-2 run to chip into the deficit. Freshman DJ Shine provided a spark during that span scoring a bucket and cashing in a pair of free throws.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-Chris Ashby connected on a pair of free throws to reach the 1,000 career scoring plateau.
-Cleveland State brought intense pressure in the first 20 minutes, forcing 12 turnovers and capitalizing with 16 points.
-The physicality of the Vikings defense allowed the Royals to get to the charity stripe 34 times, but the Royals only managed to convert with 23 points. The 34 attempts were the second most in a single game this season.
 
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.