OPENING TIP
Score: Queens 98 | Bellarmine 76
Records: Queens (7-8 overall, 2-0 ASUN) | Bellarmine (5-9 overall, 0-2 ASUN)
Location: Curry Arena (Charlotte, N.C.)
 
THE SHORT STORY
Behind a school record 24 three-pointers, the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team bounced Bellarmine on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 98-76 to improve to 2-0 in ASUN play for the second straight year. The ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, Chris Ashby, lived up to the recognition with a career-high 34 points on 11-of-20 shooting from downtown, a mark that tied Glenn Harris' single-game record back in 1998 for most threes in a game.
 
FROM COACH LEONARD
"I'm proud of our effort. I thought it was our most complete effort of the year. Our second-half defense was by far the best second-half defense we've played this season."

BY THE NUMBERS
-Ashby tied the single-game school record and buried the most threes by a Royal in Division 1 with 11, surpassing his previous record of nine.
-Carson Schwieger turned in his fourth game in double figures, matching his career-high with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from downtown. The Overland Park, Kansas native added five rebounds and an assist across 30 minutes of work.
-Senior leader Nasir Mann finished shy of a triple-double with eight points, a game-high 10 rebounds, and a career-high eight assists over 30 minutes.
-Yoav Berman provided a pivotal spark off the bench with 12 points, a season-high seven rebounds, and a career-high six assists.
-Rookie Jordan Watford continued his hot start in ASUN play with 12 points and eight assists.
-Avantae Parker rounded out the Royals impressive afternoon with nine points, eight rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, and two blocked shots.
-The league's leading scorer, Jack Karasinski, turned in a game-high 24 points, including a perfect 5-for-5 clip from downtown.
-Queens punished the visitors on the glass 40-27, including a 13-3 mark on the offensive glass. Queens turned those second-chance opportunities into 17 points.

NOTABLE MOMENTS
-Holding a slim 23-21 lead with 10:12 remaining in the first half, the Royals ripped off a 15-0 run, connecting on five threes during that span to surge ahead 38-21. During that span, sharpshooter Chris Ashby buried three shots from downtown.
-The visiting Knights chipped away at the deficit as the first half came to a close, sparking a 15-3 run to close the half and trail 50-40 at the break.
-Coming out of halftime with momentum, Bellarmine carried that strong finish into the early part of the second half, starting the final 20 minutes on a 13-9 run, which cut the deficit back down to six.
-However, it wouldn't last long as Queens responded with a 19-4 run over four minutes to increase their lead back to 22. During that run, four different Royals connected from downtown as they exchanged buckets with the Knights the rest of the way to hold onto the 22-point victory.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-Ashby's 11 threes on the day were the second most in a single game by any player in Division 1 this season.
-As a team, Queens connected on 24 threes, which marked a single-game school record.
-The Royals offense distributed a season-high 27 assists on the night. The last time a Queens program facilitated that many was December 1, 2023, against Carolina Christian (31).
-The 54 three-point attempts were the most in a single game in school history, and the Royals cashed in 44 percent of those opportunities.

NEXT UP
Queens will head to the Sunshine State next week for their first road outing in ASUN play. The Royals will square off against Jacksonville on Thursday, January 8^th at 7:00 p.m. inside Swisher Gymnasium before heading to North Florida on Saturday, January 10^th. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN Plus, and fans can purchase their tickets here.
 
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.