OPENING TIP
Score: Austin Peay 95 | Queens 87
Records: Austin Peay (18-6 overall, 12-1 ASUN) | Queens (14-12 overall, 9-4 ASUN)
Location: Curry Arena (Charlotte, N.C.)
 
THE SHORT STORY
In a marquee matchup on Wednesday night between two of the top teams in the ASUN, the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team came up just short to Austin Peay, falling 95-87. Austin Peay standout Collin Parker erupted for a game-high 39 points while Queens freshman phenom Jordan Watford put forward a career-best 26 points.
 
FROM COACH LEONARD
"A hat tip to Austin Peay tonight. I thought they played well on the road. I thought we played well in stretches, but when you're playing a really good team, the margins are real thin."

BY THE NUMBERS
- Jordan Watford had the best game of his young Royals' career, scoring 26 points, dishing out four assists, and making two three-pointers.
-Chris Ashby had a solid performance, drilling four three-pointers to score 15 points. With his fourth three on the night, the sharpshooter moved into second place all-time in ASUN history for threes made.
-Yoav Berman was effective in all facets of the game, scoring 13 points, grabbing five boards and dropping four assists.
-Nasir Mann got back into double figures, scoring 12 points while contributing five rebounds and three assists.
-Avantae Parker continued his solid play, scoring 12 points and grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.
-The free throw line was a key difference in the game as the visiting Governors connected on 26-of-32 chances while the Royals only connected on 21-of-34 opportunities.
-Austin Peay showcased their physicality outrebounding the Royals 38-28 on the night.

NOTABLE MOMENTS
- The Governors got off to a hot start, making four of their first six looks from the field to jump out to an 11-2 lead in the first three minutes of action. Queens struggled to initiate any offense in the following minutes as they went five minutes without a basket, until Yoav Berman broke the ice by going coast to coast for a transition layup, making the score 16-7.
-The Royals finally gained some momentum with 14:00 left in the first half, as Jordan Watford nailed two three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to cut the Austin Peay lead down to six. A few minutes later Watford lofted a pass right over a Governors defender to find Yoav Berman cutting to the basket for a two-handed slam, making the score 24-18 at the under 12:00 timeout.
-After the timeout with the shot clock winding down, Yoav Berman drove down the baseline, drawing the defense away from a wide open Chris Ashby who cashed in his first points of the night with a corner three and cut the Governors' lead down to five. Trailing by nine at the eight-minute mark, Carson Schweiger salvaged what looked like a lost possession, grabbing a loose ball and dishing it to Maban Jabriel in the corner, who knocked down the three-pointer to keep the Royals in a two-possession game at 34-28.
-With 5:37 remaining in the first half, Isaiah Henry got out in transition, finding a cutting Avantae Parker who rose up over his defender and finished through contact for an opportunity at a three-point play. Austin Peay followed with a quick 6-0 run, but Queens stalled the Governors run as Jordan Watford and Yoav Berman continued to carry the load for the Queens offense, generating six quick points of their own to stay within striking distance.
-Minutes later with 1:18 remaining Chris Ashby knocked down his second triple of the game and Nasir Mann drilled one of his own on the next possession, cutting the Governors advantage to four for the final possession of the half where Mann knocked down a buzzer beating mid-range jumper to make the score 52-50 at the break. 
-On the first possession of the second half, Avantae Parker posted up and found Chris Ashby open at the top of the key, who nailed a three-pointer for Queens' first lead since the first 30 seconds of the game. Nasir Mann followed with a jumper of his own off an Austin Peay turnover before Ashby drilled another from the same spot, and Mann got inside for a layup to take a 60-52 lead and cap off an immediate 10-0 Royals run.
-Austin Peay stormed back with a 10-0 run of their own before Jordan Watford broke the streak with a driving layup to tie the game at 62 with 13:54 to play, but the Governors offense stayed hot as they jumped out to a 70-65 lead at the under 12:00 timeout. The Royals offense went cold over the next four minutes as Austin Peay used a 12-5 run to extend their lead to 12 behind eight points from Collin Parker.
-Trailing 83-70 with 6:25 remaining, Jordan Watford used his quick first step to get to the hoop on three straight possessions, finishing through a foul on the final shot to get to the line and convert the and-one to cut the Governors' lead to six. Queens' offense struggled to score across the following three minutes, registering just one field goal by Avantae Parker, who broke the drought with a layup in the paint to cut the Austin Peay lead to seven with 2:54 to play.
-On the next possession Chris Ashby got fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three from the charity stripe to cut the deficit to four. The Royals then forced a turnover allowing Jordan Watford to draw a foul on a drive and make one of two from the line to make it a one possession game at 87-84 with 1:38 to play.  
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-The visiting Governors converted 10 offensive rebounds into 15 second chance points while holding the Royals to three second chance points on eight offensive rebounds.
-Five Royals finished in double figures for the 13^th time this season.
-Despite the Governors coming into the game atop the ASUN in steals per game, Queens forced 11 turnovers and capitalized with 17 points off those miscues while limiting the Governors to 10 points off 10 turnovers.
-The 26 points from rookie Jordan Watford were the third most points scored by a Royal this season.

NEXT UP
Queens will stay home in Curry Arena for another crucial conference game against Lipscomb on Saturday, February 14^th. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Fans can purchase their tickets in advance 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.