CHARLOTTE – After 20 minutes of play in the ASUN
conference opener, Queens found itself trailing, 41-39, against two-win
Stetson. This might have induced panic in some teams.
Queens coach Grant Leonard had a different – though consistent
– message for his side: Patience.
The message clearly paid off. Queens started the second half
by hitting seven of its first eight shots and turned away every challenge from
a game Stetson team, taking a 96-87 decision in the conference lid-lifter Thursday
night at Curry Arena.
“I actually told our guys we were going to wear them down. I
thought we were in better physical shape,” Leonard said. “The first nine
minutes (of the game) we had 11 points, and after that, we really started
getting to our spots and stopped turning it over. We just started to feel
comfortable.”
The Royals may have gotten comfortable as the second half got
underway, but that was certainly not the case early on. Stetson (2-12, 0-1
ASUN) canned four threes in the game’s first seven minutes, riding the 1-2
scoring punch of Mekhi Ellison and Jordan Wood to a quick 18-6 advantage.
Queens (8-6, 1-0) slowly began to chip away. Five of the next seven Royal shots
found the net, slicing the deficit by greater than half.
Forward Leo Colimerio would continue the home side’s surge, sticking
back-to-back triples that provided Queens a 29-28 lead with 4:49 to go in the
first half. After the visiting Hatters leveled the table at 36, they pushed out
to a five-point advantage that Chris Ashby sliced to just a pair with a three
with 1:11 left in the first half.
Queens took on the role of the aggressor out of the break.
Ashby gave the Royals a one-point lead with a three, followed by a Colimerio
bucket, a layup from Kalib Mathews, and another Ashby trifecta that put the
Royals ahead by six. Ashby was afforded a number of rhythm looks due to his
team’s offensive aggression, and he capitalized by tying a school record with
eight made threes.
“Chris is Chris,” Leonard said. “Shooters gotta shoot. I
tell him we want to get him 12 threes a game. He took 13, so one more than we
asked him to. The only time I ever yell at Chris is when he doesn’t shoot. He’s
doing an unbelievable job. I’ve seen his game get better and better every year.
I’m just proud of Chris for the effort he puts in.”
Queens took a six-point advantage to the under-12 timeout.
Stetson, though, would have another answer.
The Hatters tore off a 9-0 run, charged by threes from
Abramo Canka and Andrew Taylor and an and-one from Wood that put Stetson ahead
by three. The sides would then trade the lead back and forth, with neither side
able to separate by more than a possession or two for nearly seven minutes.
If the game were a heavyweight fight, Queens would score the
TKO in the penultimate round.
Ellison sank a three to again bring Stetson within three at
82-79 with 3:28 remaining. Queens would counter that perilous thinning of its
lead. Jaxon Pollard hit a three. Ashby hit a three. Colimerio put home a layup
and sank a pair of free throws. The crowd could finally exhale a bit, as Queens
opened up a 13-point margin. Stetson could never recover, and drew no closer
than seven points the rest of the contest.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth from the first game to this game,”
Leonard said. “(I’ve seen growth in) rebounding, loose balls, and ball
security. I think we had four turnovers in the second half, and that’s the
recipe to winning in conference play.”
To Leonard’s point, though Queens recorded 12 miscues, Stetson
could only convert those into 10 points, owing to the Royals’ quickness and
stamina. Queens booked 19 points off 13 Hatter turnovers.
The effort and energy of the night was not lost on Ashby.
“We just play for each other,” Ashby said. “That’s really
big for our team. We love each other and celebrate each other’s successes. I
think this is going to help us a lot.”
Ashby and Colimerio both had career nights. Colimerio logged
27 points for the second time in three games, while Ashby’s eight threes all
came at key times on the way to his equaling the school record for made threes
in a game. The Royals shot 43 percent from deep and made 12 threes, adding to
their 53.6 percent (30-for-56) ledger on the night.
“I saw they were switching everything,” Ashby said. “I was
trying to read the defense. Sometimes they were staying with me. I knew that if
I set screens, I would get myself open.”
Guard Kalib Mathews also finished in doubles for Queens,
logging 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and helping on five buckets. Leonard also
credited Mathews with his defensive activity on Ellison, as the Royals limited
him to just four field goal attempts in the second half. The Queens bench also
added 29 points in reserve duty, earning plaudits from Leonard.
“I thought they were excellent,” Leonard said of his bench. “(Forward)
Maban (Jabriel) has been coming on for a while. I thought he made a lot of key
plays. (Forward Yoav) Berman is really shooting the ball well for the season.
He does a lot of really good things for us. (Forward) Jaxon (Pollard) has been
so rock solid for us. I think they’re really understanding what their roles are
and what their strengths are. I think
that, as we’re playing teams, we’re more experienced this year for the first
time ever in Division I.”
Wood and Ellison were responsible for much of the Hatters’
offense. The duo booked 48 points on the night, knocking down 13-of-23 tries
from the field and hitting eight combined threes. Wood’s 25 were accompanied by
three boards, while Ellison knocked down all seven free throw tries as part of
his 23. Canka tallied 12 and Josh Massey 10 for the Hatters, who shot 48.2
percent (27-for-56) on the game. Stetson drained 13 triples of their own on 29
tries (44.8 percent).
Both teams return to play Saturday afternoon. Queens hosts
Florida Gulf Coast in Curry Arena, with tip time set for 1:00 (Eastern).
Stetson travels to West Georgia for a 2:00 tip from The Arena in Carrollton,
Ga. Both games will be streamed via ESPN+.
QUEENS 96, STETSON 87
STETSON (2-12, 0-1 ASUN)
Massey 4-9 1-2 10, Wood 7-13 7-9 25, Phillips 0-2 0-0 0,
Ellison 6-10 7-7 23, Gross 0-1 0-0 0, Canka 4-7 2-3 12, Taylor 1-3 1-2 4,
Sheridan 3-5 0-0 6, MacGregor 1-3 2-2 4, Sagna 0-1 0-0 0, Alesso 1-2 0-0 3.
Totals 27-56 20-25.
QUEENS (8-6, 1-0)
Colimerio 8-11 9-10 27, Wilson 1-3 1-2 3, Mathews 5-7 0-0
11, Cash 1-4 0-0 2, Ashby 8-13 0-0 24, Pollard 2-5 1-2 6, Berman 1-2 2-3 4,
Mann 1-4 5-8 7, Jabriel 3-7 2-2 8, Anderson 0-0 4-4 4. Totals 30-56 24-31 96.
Halftime: Stetson 41-39. 3-Point
goals: Stetson 13-29 (Massey 1-2, Wood 4-8, Phillips 0-1, Ellison
4-6, Gross 0-1, Canka 2-4, Taylor 1-2, Sheridan 0-1, MacGregor 0-1, Sagna 0-1,
Alesso 1-1), Queens 12-28 (Colimerio 2-3, Mathews 1-3, Ashby 8-13, Pollard 1-2,
Berman 0-1, Mann 0-2, Jabriel 0-4). Fouled out: NA. Rebounds: Queens
33 (Cash 7), Stetson 23 (Massey 6). Total fouls: Stetson 23, Queens
22. Technicals: NA
Points off turnovers: Queens 19, Stetson 10. Points
in the paint: Queens 36, Stetson 26. Second-chance
points: Stetson 7, Queens 5. Fast-break
points: Queens 22, Stetson 14. Bench points: Stetson
29, Queens 29.
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