OPENING TIP
Score: Queens 91 | West Georgia 84
Records: Queens (17-12, 12-4 ASUN) | West Georgia (12-16, 6-10 ASUN)
Location: Curry Arena (Charlotte, N.C.)
 
THE SHORT STORY
Behind a career-high 26 points from Nasir Mann, the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team took down West Georgia on senior day Saturday afternoon inside Curry Arena. Mann led the charge all night, turning in his third double-double of the season with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
 
FROM COACH LEONARD
"It meant a lot to give the seniors a win tonight. Just thinking about how far this program has come, we were a great Division 2 program, but Division 1 is a whole different animal. To have the expectations that we had this year, being picked to win the league, our guys played great. We just broke our record for ASUN regular-season wins with 12, and we have two games left. To win a game, going 3/20 from the three-point line shows that we can win in a lot of different ways. These seniors have been unbelievable, and we wouldn't be where we are today without them."

BY THE NUMBERS
- Nasir Mann led the way for the Royals with his best scoring performance of the season, dropping 26 points as well as 10-rebounds.
-Yoav Berman had a productive night, scoring 15 points, grabbing five rebounds, and dropping three assists while going 9/9 from the free-throw line.
-Avantae Parker was a force inside as usual, scoring 15 points and grabbing four rebounds.
-Jordan Watford provided a spark off the bench, dropping 14 points and dishing out a game-high six assists.
-Gus Larson got the start on his senior day and made the most of it, scoring eight points in just eleven minutes of action as he earned the Street Dog of the Game.
-Chris Ashby put in a solid performance, hitting two three-pointers to score seven points while also dishing out two assists.

NOTABLE MOMENTS
- A minute and a half into the contest, Chris Ashby drew a double team at the top of the key and found a wide-open Gus Larson cutting to the basket for an easy layup. The next possession, the senior-to-senior connection continued as Ashby read the pick and roll perfectly and threaded a bounce pass between defenders to give Larson a two-handed slam and four of the Royals first six points. Two minutes later, Avantae Parker received the ball under the basket and dropped his shoulder on the baseline, somehow converting a reverse layup high off the glass to give Queens an 8-2 run in the first four minutes of the game.
-Queens' momentum would slow over the next six minutes of action as West Georgia kicked off a run of their own to cut the lead to three at 17-14. The Royals went 0-5 from three during this stretch, but the offense was kept alive by Jordan Watford and Isaiah Henry, both of whom knifed to the basket for layups to keep the lead while the starters rested. West Georgia's offense would stay hot over the following minutes as the Wolves used a 7-2 run over the span of 57 seconds to take a 23-21 lead with 7:10 remaining in the first half.
-Trailing 26-23 with 6:10 remaining in the first half, Jordan Watford grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer and kicked it out to Chris Ashby on the wing, who knocked down the Royals' first three-pointer of the game. Queens would go on to score four possessions in a row, as Jordan Watford slithered to the hoop for a dunk and Nasir Mann got to the rim for back-to-back layups to give the Royals a 9-2 run and a 31-28 lead with 4:30 to play in the half.
-With the game tied at 35 and 1:35 remaining in the opening half, Nasir Mann grabbed a Wolves miss and took it coast-to-coast to give the advantage back to Queens. West Georgia tied it back up at 37, but on the next possession, Jordan Watford grabbed a miss off a Chris Ashby three-pointer and dished it right back to him as Ashby nailed the second try. As the clock wound down in the first half, Yoav Berman drew a double team and threw a nifty bounce pass to Carson Schwieger in the paint, who laid it in to give him his first points of the day and grant the Royals a 42-39 lead at the half. 
-Nasir Mann stayed hot to open the second half, scoring five of the Royals first seven points to push the lead to four. With 16:37 to play, Avantae Parker drove into the paint and finished through contact, subsequently converting the old-fashioned three-point play at the free throw line to continue Queens hot streak on offense to open the half and give the Royals a 52-47 lead.
-Leading 61-56 with 10:56 to play, Gus Larson caught the ball on the low block, pivoted, and laid it off the glass with a soft touch to give Queens a seven-point lead. Minutes later, up six, Jordan Watford broke his defender down twice in a row and found Avantae Parker cutting to the rim on both occasions, where Parker converted both heavily contested layups to make the score 72-64 Queens with 7:12 remaining. After having his last dunk attempt rejected with 5:42 remaining, Yoav Berman beat his defender and got to the paint, where he finished through contact and converted an and-one at the charity stripe to give Queens a 77-68 lead. A minute later, Nasir Mann followed suit but missed the free throw, but luckily Carson Schwieger was there for the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Mann on the wing, who knocked down a three-pointer to give himself five points in a matter of seconds and push Queens' lead to 12.
-Queens limited West Georgia to just three field goals for the remainder of the game, never allowing the Wolves to cut the lead to less than seven as they held onto the 91-84 victory.
 
FROM NASIR MANN
"Today was all about preparation; it was not about luck or senior day emotions. We know that the last time we played them, we were on a hot streak, but we came in unprepared and got beaten. We made sure we weren't going to do that this time. We prepared properly, watched our film, the coaches got us right, and we all had the right mentality tonight that we were going to win."
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-With the victory, Queens improved to 12-4 in ASUN play, their most wins since joining the league in 2022.
-Despite a 3-for-20 night on the perimeter, the Royals capitalized in the paint, scoring 54 points from the block.
-For the second straight game, the Royals cashed in their opportunities from the charity stripe, going 28-for-36.
-Queens improved to 5-1 all-time versus West Georgia, as they split the regular season series.

NEXT UP
Queens will head north to Richmond, Kentucky, for a game at Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday, February 25^th. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 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.