CHARLOTTE – On a cloudy Saturday afternoon in the
Queen City, there was a love story going on inside Curry Arena.
It wasn’t anything to do with Valentine’s Day or sappy
movies. Instead, Queens fans got one final chance to show their love for a trio
of seniors with some of the most important entries in the Royals’ history
books.
Oh, and those seniors? They got in on the love, as well.
Senior Nas Mann booked a career-high 26 points and hauled in
10 caroms for his fourth career double-double to guide four Royals in double
figures. Queens also got a little getback from its first ASUN loss of the
season, fending off a tough West Georgia squad, 91-84, on Senior Day.
“Hats off to West Georgia. The transition (from Division II to Division I) is incredibly difficult,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said. “I
think that they have an unbelievable team. (Forward) Shelton Williams-Dryden is
a heck of a player and they have other guys that are really good, too. I was
really proud of our effort, especially defensively and with the gameplan.”
The Royals and Wolves were in for a showdown almost from the
opening jump. Queens (17-12, 12-4 ASUN) took an early lead and quickly
stretched the lead to six. The Royals held that lead until West Georgia scored
seven of nine to square the contest at 21. Javon Daniel then knocked home a
bucket to give the Wolves their first lead of the contest.
After West Georgia led by four, the sides settled into a
trade of leads that lasted until the 1:35 mark of the first half, when Mann
laid one off the glass to give Queens a 37-35 lead. The Royals then went
2-for-1 at the end of the first half, getting a three from senior Chris Ashby
and a Carson Schwieger layup to take a 42-39 margin to the interval.
West Georgia (12-16, 6-10 ASUN) thinly sliced the deficit to
one with a Kenneth Chime bucket on the first possession of the second half.
That Queens lead stayed within two possessions for the next eight minutes, as
the Royals continued to counterpunch on every Wolves basket. The lead was at
four with eight-and-a-half minutes remaining, before back-to-back buckets from
Avantae Parker and Jordan Watford doubled the lead back to eight.
Josh Smith canned a jumper just inside five-and-a-half
minutes remaining to bring West Georgia back within seven. Mann then landed a 1-2
combo that staggered the Wolves and almost put them down for the count.
Mann drove the lane with just fewer than five minutes
remaining and put home a bucket through contact, putting the Royals ahead nine
at 79-70. Though the free throw attempt was errant, Queens snared the board and
fired to Mann on the left side of the perimeter. Mann splashed a
lightly-contested triple and let out a yell as Queens seized a 12-point lead.
“In the heat of the moment, we’re really just trying to win,”
Mann said of the sequence. “Every game is important, but this one just felt a
little more special. My whole family’s here. It’s my last time being on the
court with these guys here at Curry Arena. To hit that shot is really a dream
come true, just to finish the way we just did.”
Leonard also felt the gravity of the
sequence.
“It was huge. I thought that kind of like – it wasn’t the
nail in the coffin, but it definitely put the top on it,” he said. “Nas has
made those types of plays all year and I expect nothing less. I know Nas is
going to come up with the ball when it counts and he does.”
“Sometimes, I look down and we have seven or eight guys. I
don’t know who to play at the end of the games. Different guys have different
strengths, but Nas has come up with a lot of winning plays. He does a lot of
things that aren’t even in the stat book. I really appreciate that, and I know that
was a big-time play.”
Leonard’s comment told the tale. The Royals never led by
fewer than seven the rest of the way, despite the Wolves making several late
charges.
The finish marked a fitting celebration for the three
seniors, who all made key contributions Saturday afternoon and throughout their
time as Royals. Mann tallied the double-double, while Ashby and Larson combined
for 15.
As for the love story, well…all three of the seniors spoke
of that, too.
Ashby found love for the Queens program. The Texas native
described Queens as “home” and talked Saturday afternoon about the place he
chose to stay to pursue this exact type of season, instead of leaving for
greener – financially or otherwise – pastures.
“(Queens) just means a lot to me,” Ashby said. “Coming out
of junior college, I didn’t really have a lot of coaches believing in me.
Queens and Coach Grant were the only ones that did. I really appreciate them
for that.”
“Not a lot of guys can say they have a home. I’m very
appreciative for the coaching staff. I’ve made a lot of friends here in
Charlotte, and my teammates…I love them.”
For Larson and Mann, they found their love for the game.
Both came from situations that left them searching for that element, and Queens
helped them find it.
“Queens has been a bit of a resolution,” Larson said. “There
have been a lot of ups and downs with basketball. If you look at my resume, I’ve
been a little bit all over the place, so I admire guys like Chris, who have
been here all four years.”
“Queens has been a place that has just kind of put it all at
ease. It has allowed me to really find a love and a passion for the game of
basketball.”
Mann voiced a similar message.
“To me, Queens is just the place where I found my love for
the game again,” Mann said. “I was falling out of love with it. I just didn’t
enjoy it anymore. I really didn’t want to play anymore. I came here and met
some great guys last year and this year. It’s probably the most fun I’ve ever
had in basketball, period.”
“I’m just so happy. I love these guys. I’m sad, but I’m not
going to shed a tear. Trust me, I’m a little emotional right now.”
Leonard spoke of the impact the trio has had on Queens’ success
on and off the court and its most successful Division 1 season in conference
play.
“I know that we’re supposed to say we want to win games, but
really, we’re supposed to build community through basketball, and to do that,
you’ve got to build an environment guys want to be in,” he said. “I really
believe if you do it the right way, if you build it the right way through
teaching and positivity – the mission is to serve them, not (to have) them
serve us. Our school mission is not to be served, but to serve. It’s been my
pleasure to serve these guys.”
“It really is a huge deal that not only did they find their
love for basketball here, but I really believe that that when they have kids
and they’re going to show their kids where they played, it’s going to be here.
That makes me proud that we did it right and that Queens did it right. It’s not
just basketball, it’s the whole community. I’m just super proud of what these
guys have accomplished and what they’ve been able to do.”
Mann’s 26 and 10 paced the Royals in both categories. Guard
Yoav Berman and forward Avantae Parker contributed 15 apiece, combining to
knock down 8-of-14 tries from the field. Jordan Watford added 14 in reserve
duty, hitting 4-of-5 from the deck and 6-of-8 from the line.
Queens shot 51.7 percent from the field (30-for-58), despite
hitting just 3-of-20 (15 percent) from beyond the arc. The Royals hit 77.8
percent (29-of-36) from the line. Queens committed just four turnovers in the
game, leading to just seven West Georgia points.
Smith led West Georgia with 20, hitting 8-of-13 from the
floor (2-of-5 from three) and 2-of-3 from the line. Chime, Williams-Dryden, and
Matija Zuzic added 14 apiece, hitting a combined 15-of-31 tries from the field.
Kolten Griffin booked 12 on 5-of-10 from the field.
The Wolves hit 48.5 percent (32-for-66) from the field and 30
percent (6-for-20) from three. West Georgia knocked down 73.7 percent
(14-for-19) from the line.
Queens begins its final week of regular-season ASUN play Wednesday,
traveling to Baptist Health Arena in Richmond, Ky., to battle Eastern Kentucky.
Tip time is set for 7:00 (Eastern), with ESPN+ handling streaming coverage.
West Georgia returns home to The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga., to face Lipscomb
Wednesday night. ESPN+ will air the telecast beginning at 7:00.
QUEENS 91, WEST GEORGIA 84
WEST GEORGIA (12-16, 6-10 ASUN)
Hardewig 1-4 0-0 2, Williams-Dryden 6-12 2-3 14, Griffin
5-10 1-2 12, Chime 6-10 2-3 14, Noel 1-3 1-1 3, Shegog 0-0 0-0 0, Daniel 2-5
0-0 5, Zuzic 3-9 6-7 14, Smith 8-13 2-3 20. Totals 32-66 14-19 84.
QUEENS (17-12, 12-4)
Mann 10-14 5-7 26, Larson 3-3 2-2 8, Ashby 2-7 1-1 7,
Schwieger 2-10 0-0 4, Berman 3-7 9-9 15, Watford 4-5 6-8 14, Henry 1-1 0-0 2,
Parker 5-7 5-9 15, Jabriel 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 30-58 28-36 91.
Halftime: Queens 42-39. 3-Point
goals: West Georgia 6-20 (Hardewig 0-3, Williams-Dryden 0-2, Griffin
1-2, Noel 0-1, Daniel 1-2, Zuzic 2-5, Smith 2-5), Queens 3-20 (Mann 1-3, Ashby
2-6, Schwieger 0-6, Berman 0-2, Watford 0-1, Jabriel 0-2). Fouled out: NA. Rebounds: West
Georgia 36 (Chime 11), Queens 33 (Mann 10). Total fouls: West
Georgia 23, Queens 16. Technicals: NA.
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