Queens dictates tempo, hands Eastern Kentucky its first ASUN defeat

 

Queens guard Deyton Albury finished tied for the team-high in scoring with 22 in the Royals' Thursday win over Eastern Kentucky.  (Photo:  Queens University of Charlotte Athletics)

CHARLOTTE – Eastern Kentucky walked through the doors of Curry Arena in Charlotte Thursday night with a 7-0 record and the league lead in the ASUN. Queens, despite being 2-5 in the league, has insisted that it is turning the corner with its young team.

Despite the Royals’ confidence, no one outside their locker room – or maybe even inside it – could have seen what would unfold once the ball was tipped.

Queens led the top team in the ASUN for nearly 33 minutes and by as many as 19 points, getting 22 apiece from Deyton Albury and AJ McKee in a 94-76 Royals victory.

“This week, we were preparing like crazy,” Albury said. “We knew we were facing the number one team in the conference. Just being mentally locked in and having energy in practice got us through this one.”

“We had a good feeling coming into this one. We were more than capable. It feels great to pull this one off.”

Eastern Kentucky (11-10, 7-1 ASUN) stormed out to an early lead on the home side. Isaiah Cozart and Leland Walker keyed an early 10-3 Colonel burst, with Walker scoring six in the early run. Queens (9-14, 3-5) countered with an 11-2 burst over the next four-and-a-half minutes to grab a 14-12 advantage on a McKee triple. Amazingly, Queens would never again trail.

The Royals led by as many as eight in the first half, largely keeping the Colonels at arm’s length. Eastern Kentucky would gradually whittle down the advantage to as few as one point following a John Ukomadu bucket that shaved the deficit to 35-34 with 1:56 remaining in the opening stanza. Queens again responded, though, tearing off a 7-0 burst to again establish a 42-34 advantage. Walker added two free throws with 35 seconds remaining, sending Queens to the interval ahead, 42-36.

“I thought we played well (in the first half),” Queens coach Grant Leonard said after the game. “My biggest thing was turnovers. They want to force turnovers and make the game chaos. I looked in the last four minutes of the half and they were gassed. Our guys weren’t. I think they struggled with our pace.”

“For us to be great, we can’t just play fast. We have to be able to control tempo. We were able to do that tonight.”

Eastern Kentucky again knifed the deficit to just two points on consecutive buckets from Tayshawn Comer to start the second stanza. Queens (9-14, 3-5) quickly answered, though, just as it did in the first half. The Royals unfurled an 8-0 run in just under two minutes, getting two Albury free throws and back-to-back triples from BJ McLaurin and Kalib Mathews to swell the Royal advantage to 50-40. Mathews drew praise from Leonard after the game.

“I think this was the biggest impact he’s had all year, and last year, he had a lot of games like that,” Leonard said. “I’m proud of his perseverance. There were games where he got DNPs. His shoulder, toe, and everything were bothering him. I think he’s fought through it and figured out how to be effective. I expect him to have a great second half of the conference season.”

The Colonels tried to mount another challenge after the run, getting a Tae Tae Blanton three and Cozart layup to cut Queens’ lead to eight with 15:06 to play. Queens again deftly turned away the visitors’ challenge, however, via a pair of electrifying plays.

The first play that awakened the Queens student section came via a Mathews dunk that extended the Royals’ lead to 58-46 with 14:38 to play. Seven minutes later, though, Jacobi Sebock was on the receiving end of a play that would land him the third spot in SportsCenter’s Top 10 and served as the virtual dagger. Sebock rose high above the rim, caught a McKee lob, and fired down a one-handed jam that put Queens ahead by 17 with 7:32 left. Eastern Kentucky could close the deficit no further than 11 points, and Queens ran away with the decision.

NO THEY DIDN'T!!!!!! CURRY ARENA IS ROCKING 👀🤯@ESPNAssignDesk #RoyalsRise | #QUeenCity | #LTM | #OSIOS pic.twitter.com/BtQgGsw5dc

— Queens (N.C.) Men’s Basketball (@queensMBB) February 2, 2024

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” McKee said after the game. “We knew Eastern Kentucky was a great team. We just came out here and fought.”

Still, despite the victory, Albury provided a somewhat surprising answer when asked if Queens has yet played its best game.

“No. I wouldn’t say we have put together a straight 40 minutes of Queens basketball,” Albury matter-of-factly said. “Coach always preaches that to us, to try to put a full 40 together. I think we probably did about 30 minutes today. We could have had a better little stretch, but there’s always room for improvement. We’re going to get back at it tomorrow and try to put that full 40 together.”

McKee and Albury’s 22 paced the Royals. The pair combined to shoot 14-of-24 from the deck, grab 13 total rebounds, and hit 12-of-14 from the line. McLaurin added 12 and snared three caroms in 25 minutes of game action. Queens shot 44.4 percent (28-for-63) on the night, including a 50 percent performance on 13-of-26 in the second half. The Royals added an 85.3 percent performance (29-for-34) from the line and missed just twice on two second-half tries. Queens scored 1.253 points per possession on 75 trips.

Walker led four Colonels in double figures, scoring 22 on 7-of-15 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the line before fouling out. Cozart, Comer, and Tae Tae Blanton added 14 apiece. Eastern Kentucky shot 36 percent (27-for-75) from the deck, including an icy 19.2 percent (5-for-26) from distance. The Colonels hit 73.9 percent (17-of-23) from the charity stripe.

The Royals’ defense on Blanton proved to be a key component to their success. Blanton’s 14 included just 3-for-14 shooting, as Queens freshman Bryce Cash was largely responsible for locking down the Eastern Kentucky star.

“I think Bryce did a great job,” Albury said. “Coach was harping on him about how good of a player he is and telling him to go out there confident and believe he is as good as or better than anybody on the floor. The whole team has a lot of confidence in Bryce, and we just want to see him succeed.”

“I thought he did an unbelievable job,” Leonard added. “(Blanton) had 14 points, but it was on 22 possessions. I thought he bothered him. He couldn’t get to his spots. We made him rush.”

“That’s where Bryce has been getting to. I’m proud of him.”

Leonard offered a quick final summation of his team’s performance.

“I told a bunch of people before the game that we had to win the turnover battle, which we did. We had to win the free throw battle, which we did. The only thing we lost was offensive rebounds. I thought our guys won two of the three key areas, and that’s why we were successful tonight.”

“We didn’t want Blanton to get to his spots. We didn’t want Cozart to get to his spots. We didn’t want (forward Michael) Moreno to get threes, and he didn’t. He didn’t get any clean ones, anyway. I was very proud of our guys’ effort in executing the gameplan. That was excellent basketball.”

Both sides resume ASUN play Saturday. Eastern Kentucky visits Kennesaw State, with game time in the KSU Convocation Center set for 5:00 (Eastern). Streaming coverage will be provided over ESPN+. Queens welcomes Bellarmine to Curry Arena for a 4:00 Saturday tilt. That game will also be streamed over ESPN+.

QUEENS 94, EASTERN KENTUCKY 76

EASTERN KENTUCKY (11-10, 7-1 ASUN)

Comer 6-12 1-2 14, Walker 7-15 7-8 22, Blanton 3-14 5-6 14, Moreno 1-5 0-0 2, Cozart 6-11 2-5 14, Buttry 2-5 0-0 5, Cooper 1-8 0-0 3, Ukomadu 1-5 2-2 4, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-75 17-23 76.

QUEENS (9-14, 3-5)

Sebock 2-7 4-4 8, McKee 8-14 3-4 22, McLaurin 3-6 4-4 12, Cash 2-8 4-6 8, Albury 6-10 9-10 22, George 0-0 0-0 0, Mathews 2-4 2-2 7, Ashby 2-8 2-2 8, Threatt 0-0 0-0 0, Pollard 2-3 0-0 4, Wilson 1-3 1-2 5. Totals 28-63 29-34 94.

Halftime:  Queens 42-36. 3-Point goals:  Queens 9-23 (Sebock 0-3, McKee 3-6, McLaurin 2-2 , Cash 0-2, Albury 1-1, Mathews 1-1, Ashby 2-8), Eastern Kentucky 5-26 (Comer 1-7, Walker 1-3, Blanton 1-3, Moreno 0-3, Buttry 1-4, Cooper 1-5, Ukomadu 0-1). Fouled out:  Walker (EKU), Buttry (EKU)). Rebounds:  Eastern Kentucky 47 (Cozart 9), Queens 42 (Albury 8). Assists: Queens 15 (Mathews/Cash 4), Eastern Kentucky 10 (Cozart 3). Total fouls:  Eastern Kentucky 25, Queens 21. Technicals:  McKee (QUC).

Points off turnovers:  Queens 18, Eastern Kentucky 12.  Points in the paint:  Queens 36, Eastern Kentucky 34.  Second-chance points:  Eastern Kentucky 11, Queens 10.  Fast-break points:  Queens 32, Eastern Kentucky 13.  Bench points:  Queens 22, Eastern Kentucky 12.