CHARLOTTE – On one hand, there was a lot to love in
Queens University of Charlotte’s season-opener Monday night. The Royals’
defense held its opponent to a meager 16 percent shooting and rejected nine
shots, including seven by center Malcolm Wilson.
On the other, well…
The good news? Queens placed four scorers in double figures
and allowed well under a half-point per possession while never trailing in a
90-39 victory over Lynchburg Monday night in Curry Arena.
“I thought our defensive effort was fantastic,” Queens coach
Grant Leonard said after the game. “We were really able to pressure the ball
and use our length. We really helped (on defense) and recovered quite well. We
contested shots, I think, the best that we have in many, many years. I was
really happy with that.”
Queens (1-0) got on the board early on a pair of Wilson
dunks. After the Royals stretched the lead to 10-2, Lynchburg (0-0) got a
Jamarcus Brown bucket and three Piercen Young free throws to slice the Queens advantage
to three. That was the last time the visiting Hornets challenged.
The Royal defense clamped down on the visiting Hornets,
surrendering just two baskets in the next 16 Lynchburg tries. Wilson turned away
some of those shots himself, helping set up fast breaks and forcing Lynchburg
to play further and further from the basket. When Lynchburg missed shots,
Wilson was there to snatch away the caroms and find teammates to help create
offense on the other end.
“I think it was just the amount of work we put in this
summer that is giving me a lot of confidence,” Wilson said. “I’ve been able to
be more effective on the offensive end and really focus on the defensive end
and rebounds. That’s my job – taking those opportunities and making sure I’m
going after those possessions.”
Wilson played 14 minutes in the opening half, snatching six
boards and rejecting four Hornet tries. When the 7-footer wasn’t altering
shots, the rest of the Royal defense did so. Lynchburg hit just 6-for-32 (18.8
percent) of its tries in the opening stanza, with 2-for-16 (12.5 percent) of
the Hornets’ tries from distance finding the mark. Queens rode the effort to a
46-21 margin at the interval, shooting nearly 46 percent and scoring 1.15
points per trip in the first 20.
“That’s just the focus of our team, I think – doing what we
do no matter who we play and especially on the defensive end. I think we did
that,” Wilson said.
The defensive clampdown carried on into the second half. Though
Queens experimented with different combinations on the floor throughout the
period, the Royals continued to limit the Hornets’ offensive output.
“They’re not confident in what they’re doing yet, but they’re
really talented,” said Leonard of his bench players that got extended second-half
minutes. “There was a group out there that had five freshmen at one time, with (guard)
Jordon Nevill, Sawyer (Mayhugh), DJ (Shine), Maban (Jabriel), and (Yoav) Berman.
(That’s a) really talented group, but they’ve just got to be more confident in
what they do.
“They fouled, they kicked the ball around a little bit, but
then when they got to spots, they were playing with pace, they got great looks.
They’ve just got to understand that less is more, and if they figure that out,
they’re going to be really good.”
Queens limited the Hornets to an even bigger defensive
struggle in the second stanza. Lynchburg shot just 13.3 percent (4-for-30) in
the period and missed all ten three-point attempts. The Hornets trailed by
fewer than 30 points for one possession in the second half, after a Young
jumper snipped the deficit to 28 with 16:11 remaining.
The night also marked the regular-season debut of sophomore
Bryce Cash at the point guard position. Cash, the third point guard in Queens’
three Division I seasons, played limited minutes and scored just five points,
but showed much of the skill and intellect that led Leonard to move the 6-5
sophomore to the position.
“Four assists and one turnover. That’s a big deal,” Leonard
said. “I clearly need to get the ball in his hands more. He’s doing a lot more
(on the floor) than he has, so he’s got to really work on his conditioning.
Defensively, he’s so solid. He talks. He sees things beforehand and his
understanding of our goals and concepts on both sides of the ball is high. That’s
why he’s in the position he is, because he’s running our team on the floor.”
Queens placed four scorers in double figures, despite no
player tallying greater than 23 minutes. Nasir Mann led the Royals and recorded
a double-double, scoring 14 points and snaring 10 boards in just 19 minutes.
“He doesn’t have to put the ball on the floor to be a
playmaker,” Leonard said of Mann. “He can run the floor, and he can cut, catch,
and shoot. I’m really happy with what he did and happy for him, because I think
you’re going to see him have a really good year and get better and better as
the year progresses.”
Berman added 13 on 5-for-8 shooting (2-for-4 from three),
with forward Leo Colimerio contributing 12 and guard Chris Ashby 11. Queens
shot 46.2 percent (30-for-65) from the deck and hit 13-of-36 (36.1 percent)
from distance.
Young led the Hornets with 11. Forward Mason Makovec added
10 in reserve duty, connecting on 2-of-5 from the field and 5-for-6 from the
line. Lynchburg hit 10-of-62 field goal attempts and just 2-for-26 (7.7
percent) from distance. The Hornets scored 17 times on 25 tries (68 percent)
from the charity stripe.
Queens returns to action Friday night at 7:00 in Curry Arena
against Western Carolina in the ASUN/SoCon Challenge. The Catamounts are 1-0
following a season-opening victory over Bob Jones.
“The one thing we’ve got to clean up as a group is our
turnovers,” Leonard said in preparation for Friday’s contest. “You can’t have
18 turnovers and think you’re going to beat a quality team. (Western Carolina
coach) Tim Craft always has a quality team. The biggest thing for them is to
recover tomorrow – Election Day – do their civic duty, and then on Wednesday
and Thursday, we’re going to prep for Western Carolina.”
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