Queens shuts down Sacred Heart behind early offense and staunch defense

 

Queens forward Carson Schwieger pours in three of his career-high 17 points in Saturday's win over Sacred Heart.  (Photo:  Queens University of Charlotte Athletics)

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CHARLOTTE – To those outside Curry Arena Saturday, The Carson and Larson Show probably sounded like some cheesy Charlotte morning radio program. Inside, the duo were among many putting on a show of their own.

Carson – Schwieger, the Queens forward – poured in 17 points off the bench to pace four Royal scorers in double figures as the home side solved Sacred Heart’s defensive pressure and applied some of its own, scoring an 81-64 victory over the visiting Pioneers.

“They’re a really tough team to prepare for,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said of Sacred Heart. “They’ve got five or six guys that score really well, and I thought our defense really carried us in this game. Holding them to 30 percent in the second half was phenomenal. We were (also) able to knock down some timely threes, which got us a lot of separation, especially early.”

Separation is an understatement.

Queens (2-3) knocked down three-pointers on four of its first five buckets, setting the tone for an 8-for-10 start from distance. After the Royals had their early 18-8 lead halved by the Pioneers, Queens delivered an early knockout blow.

Nas Mann converted a layup. Jordan Watford collected back-to-back layups. Schwieger canned consecutive triples. Yoav Berman added a three. Schwieger struck again. Avantae Parker put home a layup.

That five-minute, 20-0 Queens stretch left the Pioneers staggering and forced Sacred Heart coach Anthony Latina to burn two timeouts.

“That’s something we’ve been trying to get to all year,” Leonard said. “We wanted to come out throwing the first punch, and I think we did that tonight. It was a great adjustment by our team, and a credit to our guys for being locked in and knowing what they had to get to early in the game.”

Sacred Heart (1-4) got off the mat a bit and responded with a 21-9 closing run to snip the interval deficit. First-year player Abdou Yadd keyed the burst, booking seven straight Pioneer points in the segment. Still, the visitors could manage just 40 percent (14-for-35) from the deck in the period.

The Pioneers scored the first four points of the second half to slice the Queens lead to nine at the 16:40 mark of the second half. That brief trip into single digits would be the final one of the day.

Queens continued its defensive clampdown on Sacred Heart. The Pioneers missed their first seven shots of the second half before the Anquan Hill layup that cut it to nine. Only three of the Pioneers’ next 11 attempts found the net, as the Royals continued to create separation. Even when Sacred Heart seemed to gain ground, Queens answered.

Taj Bryant knocked down a pair of free throws that drew Sacred Heart within 12 and seemed to mark the start of a threat. Queens responded with a two-minute flurry in which it scored nine of the next 10 points, with Yoav Berman scoring six of those while sandwiching another Schwieger triple. Queens eventually grew the lead as far as 22, with Sacred Heart unable to climb back into contention.

Schwieger’s 17 paced Queens and were a career-best for the Valparaiso transfer. The redshirt sophomore canned 6-of-9 from the floor – 5-of-8 from deep – and snatched four boards. Schwieger nearly doubled his three-point output for the season in Saturday’s contest, adding the five to his prior three in the first four games.

“It felt good,” Schwieger said of his performance. “Obviously, the ball was going in the hoop tonight. My teammates were getting me the ball when I was open. They were making it easy for me.”

Schwieger has earned more minutes as the season has progressed, and the Overland Park, Kansas native commented after the game on his transition to Charlotte.

“When I got here, they kind of felt me out (in terms of) how I play, and they didn’t try to force me to do anything I wasn’t great at,” Schwieger said. “My role here is very comfortable for me. They’re obviously looking for me to do more, but they allow me to do what I’m good at. It helps when you’re in a place that fits you.”

Mann and Chris Ashby added 15 apiece for the Royals. The pair sank seven threes on the day, with Mann hauling in six of the Royals’ 39 boards.

Ashby attributed his success to one simple factor.

“It’s just experience and knowing who to read,” Ashby said. “Who’s helping and who’s not helping? It’s just reading the defense, basically.”

Parker tallied 10 and snatched five boards, teaming with Larson to give Queens an effective one-two punch against the Pioneers’ post players. Queens shot 49.2 percent (29-for-59) on the day, hitting 44.4 percent (16-for-36) from deep. The Royals outrebounded Sacred Heart, 39-32, and helped on 20-of-29 baskets.

The Royals’ success – particularly early – from deep was something Leonard expected.

“You can see it in all their games,” Leonard said. “They’re a very help-predicated team. When teams do that, our whole offense is about reading what they do, so we’ve got to get the ball out. I thought at times we did it really well and got some really wide-open threes.”

Sacred Heart was led by Hill’s 19 points, with the forward converting on 8-of-17 from the deck and grabbing seven caroms. Bryant added 14 and hit all three of his three-point attempts. Guard Dashon Gittens added 10 on a 4-for-10 effort. The Pioneers shot 35.4 percent (23-for-65), with just 10-of-32 looks being good from beyond the arc.

The teams will enjoy a few days off before returning to play. Queens resumes play Thursday with the first round ot the SoCon-ASUN Challenge against UNC Greensboro. Tip time between the Spartans and Royals is set for 7:00 (Eastern) inside the Levine Center, with coverage planned for ESPN+. Sacred Heart returns home Friday to the Pitt Center in Fairfield, Conn., to square off with Holy Cross. The Crusaders and Pioneers will tip at 7:00 on ESPN+.

Quotables

• The Larson (Queens forward Gus) part of the Carson and Larson Show earned a special honor after the game. The Cal grad transfer scored just three points, but swatted away four shots, boarded nine misses, helped on two buckets, and recorded a steal. This earned the forward the game recipient of Buddy the Street Dog, a statue Queens has made part of the program.

“This goes to the street dog of the game,” Ashby said while looking at the trophy. “This was awarded to Gus Larson.”

“I thought he did the dirty stuff and got some 50-50 balls that were huge when we were going on a run,” Leonard added. “Avantae got cut and was out the rest of the half, and Gus came in and gave us unbelievable minutes. Carson did, as well – he plays multiple positions. Gus really gave us a pop of energy. In our league, at our level, he’s going to have the length to bother shots at the rim.”

• Queens faced pressure from Sacred Heart most of the night. The Pioneers went ‘12’ (1-2-2 press) on several possessions and mixed in other press principles while trying to limit the Royals. Leonard liked how his team responded.

“I thought we were able to get the ball out and to open shooters on the back side, which was the goal of it,” Leonard said. “We had a couple times where we were hesitatnt, and I think that’s because it’s the first time we’ve really been pressured in a zone press, but we’ll get better as it goes (at) attacking first side, getting the ball moving, and when we do, we get into offense really quickly and it’s really good.”

1. Leonard wore a white suit (pictured) for Queens’ White Out day. The Queens leader told me he picked up the suit at Carolina Place Mall in nearby Pineville.

Queens' Carson Schwieger (22), coach Grant Leonard, and Chris Ashby (11) pictured with the Buddy the Street Dog statue.  (Photo:  Brian Wilmer/Daly Dose of Hoops)