CHARLOTTE – You know how the old saying goes: “Die by the three, live by the three.”
Okay – maybe that got reversed.
After Gardner-Webb went the final 26:36 of Wednesday night’s
game without hitting a three, the game came down to a loose ball off a miss. Queens
recovered, followed by AJ McKee hitting B.J. McLaurin beyond the arc. McLaurin
stepped up, caught the pass, and splashed home a triple with under a second
remaining to claim an 83-80 victory at Curry Arena.
“That’s (guard) Deyton (Albury)’s job, to get downhill and
put pressure on the rim,” McLaurin said. “He went to the rim and we could have
gotten the foul, but we didn’t. AJ did a good job like he always does in going
to crash the offensive glass. Thankfully, he got the rebound, he was able to
see me, and we got the win.”
Queens (4-3) countered two early Gardner-Webb buckets with a
10-0 run, keyed by a pair of Chris Ashby triples. The Royals grew their lead as
far as 19-9 before a stoppage ignited the visitors. Gardner-Webb (3-5) punched
back with a 14-4 burst of its own to again square up the proceedings at 23
apiece. Neither side could create much separation from there, with no margin
greater than two possessions the rest of the half. The Runnin’ Bulldogs led for
much of the final six minutes of the half before a Chris Ashby three with 31
seconds remaining knotted the score at 42.
The game remained within a single possession for the first
five minutes of the second stanza. A Brendan Mykalcio layup for Gardner-Webb
tied the game at 55 with 15 minutes remaining. Queens then ripped off a 9-2 run
to build a 64-57 lead minutes later, but Gardner-Webb again countered to cut
the margin to a single bucket. The tug-of-war ensued from there, as after
Queens stretched the margin to six, Gardner-Webb again shaved it within a
bucket.
The battle continued, with Gardner-Webb finally ascending
back to the summit on two DQ Nicholas free throws that gave the Runnin’
Bulldogs a 78-77 lead with 1:18 remaining. Following an Albury free throw that
again evened the proceedings at 78, McLaurin put home a bucket with 36 seconds
remaining to put Queens back on top by a pair. Caleb Robinson tied the game on
a layup off a steal with 13 seconds to play.
Following a Gardner-Webb timeout, Queens advanced the ball
up the floor. Albury’s first look missed, but McKee secured the rebound and found
McLaurin.
“The play actually had an option for B.J. on that. He was
looping under and Deyton got downhill,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said. “I was
preaching all game when we got the offensive rebounds, ‘Don’t try and put it
back up. Kick it out,’ and we finally executed that at the very end. AJ grabbed
the ball and kicked it out to a wide-open B.J. and we hit the shot.
“B.J. was in the exact spot where we wanted him. I thought
he was going to get a clean look, whether it was off the initial action or the
second stop, which is what he got. B.J. knocked it down, and that’s not the
first time he’s hit a big shot for us.”
“I knew that was in,” Ashby said. “As soon as he let it go,
I knew that was going in. He works on that all day in practice. I just knew it.”
Still, one more arrow remained in the Runnin’ Bulldogs’
quiver.
Gardner-Webb fired a three-quarters court pass on the final
play, where the ’Dogs found a wide-open Julien Soumaoro on a quick touch pass.
Soumaoro’s look to tie circled off the rim, though, and the home side escaped
with a hard-fought victory.
“We were trying to block all the actions,” Leonard said. “I
don’t know how Soumaoro got behind us. No one was supposed to get behind us at
all. We’ll have to watch it on film and work through that. We still have a lot
of execution stuff that we can get better at, but they should never have gotten
that clean of a look off.”
Nicholas paced Gardner-Webb with an 18-point effort. 12 of
those points came on a perfect night at the free throw line. Robinson added 16
points and seven boards despite being in foul trouble for much of the game. Lucas
Stieber poured in 11. The Runnin’ Bulldogs hit 39.4 percent of their attempts
(26-for-66) from the floor but managed just 17.6 percent (3-for-17) from
distance. Quest Aldridge’s triple with 6:36 remaining in the first half was the
last three recorded by the ‘Dogs. Gardner-Webb hit 80.6 percent (25-of-31) from
the line and notched 42 points in the paint.
McLaurin tallied a double-double and a career-high points
total, booking 24 points and hauling in 12 caroms on a 9-for-15 night. Ashby
logged his own career-high with 23 points, including 7-of-9 from distance.
“Chris is a hard worker. He comes in the gym ready to do
what he does,” McLaurin said. “That what he’s here for and he’s going to
continue to do that.”
McKee joined his teammates in double figures, finishing with
14 points and seven boards.
The Royals hit 27-of-68 (39.7 percent) from the floor.
Queens canned 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) from beyond the arc. The home side also
had several tries from the charity stripe, hitting 18-of-26 (69.2 percent).
Queens assisted on 16 of 27 made shots.
Queens returns to action Friday against Carolina Christian.
Game time in Curry Arena is set for noon (Eastern). Gardner-Webb returns home
to Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C., to take on Western Carolina Saturday
evening. Tip time is set for 7:00. Both games will be streamed over ESPN+.
QUEENS 83, GARDNER-WEBB 80
GARDNER-WEBB (3-5)
Robinson 6-14 3-5 16, Soumaoro 2-11 0-2 4, Nicholas 3-10
12-12 18, Stieber 3-7 5-6 11, Richards 2-3 0-0 4, Mykalcio 4-8 0-0 8, Aldridge
1-2 0-0 3, Badmus 2-4 1-2 5, Simmons 0-0 0-0 0, Lazar 2-5 4-4 9, Sissoko 1-2
0-0 2. Totals 26-66 25-31 80.
QUEENS (4-4)
McKee 4-14 6-8 14, McLaurin 9-15 4-5 24, Cash 1-4 1-2 3,
Ashby 8-13 0-0 23, Albury 2-9 5-6 9, Sebock 3-7 2-2 9, Mathews 0-1 1-2 1,
Threatt 0-2 0-0 0, Pollard 0-3 0-1 0, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-68 18-26 83.
Halftime: Tied 42-42.
3-Point goals: Queens 11-27 (McKee 1-4,
McLaurin 2-4, Cash 0-1, Ashby 7-9, Albury 0-1, Sebock 1-4, Threatt 0-2, Pollard
0-2, Gardner-Webb 3-17 (Robinson 1-2, Soumaoro 0-4, Nicholas 0-2, Stieber 0-2,
Mykalcio 0-1, Aldridge 1-2, Lazar 1-4). Fouled out: Richards (GWU), Sissoko (GWU), Ashby (QUC).
Rebounds: Queens 45 (McLaurin 12),
Gardner-Webb 41 (Robinson/Mykalcio 7). Assists:
Queens 16 (Albury 6), Gardner-Webb 11 (Robinson/Soumaoro/Nicholas 2).
Total fouls: Queens 23, Gardner-Webb 22.
Technicals: Robinson (GWU).
Points off turnovers:
Queens 14, Gardner-Webb 14. Points
in the paint: Gardner-Webb 42, Queens 28. Second-chance points: Queens 20, Gardner-Webb 17. Fast-break points: Gardner-Webb 17, Queens 14. Bench points:
Gardner-Webb 27, Queens 10.
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