CHARLOTTE – When assembling his roster, Queens coach
Grant Leonard wanted to have enough depth to have a different player be “the
guy” every night.
Friday was Asjon Anderson’s night.
The junior JUCO transfer enjoyed a career night with 24 points
– buoyed by four threes and 10 free throws – as the Royals turned away Western
Carolina, 67-54, in round one of the ASUN/SoCon Challenge Friday night at Curry Arena.
“(The key was) just believing in myself,” Anderson said
after the game. “My coaches and my teammates believed in me, too, and kept
telling me to shoot and always be ready to shoot. Everyone believing in me made
me believe in myself.”
It took very little time for Anderson to make an impact on
the game. Western Carolina (1-1) jumped out to a 9-5 lead behind six early
points from Princeton transfer forward Vernon Collins. Queens (2-0) countered
with a 10-2 burst to take a 15-11 lead that Western would eventually match.
That’s when Anderson took over.
The guard tore off 11 straight points of his own for the
Royals, drilling a trifecta of triples that grew the Royals’ lead to its
first-half high. Anderson booked 16 of Queens’ first-half 28, helping steer Queens
to a 28-20 interval advantage.
“(The personal run) just made me play harder and just let
the game come to me, so it was big,” Anderson said.
“Asjon is really instant offense off the bench,” Leonard
said. “I think his biggest hiccup this year has been trying to figure out when
it’s been too much. I thought today he started defensively, and as he started
to pressure the ball and caused some turnovers, it opened up the floor for him.
He got some good looks and kind of got the confidence going, which was really
good.”
A tug-of-war ensued early in the second half. WCU cut it to five
on a Bernard Pelote triple, only for Queens to tear off an 8-0 run punctuated
by a Chris Ashby three that forced Catamounts coach Tim Craft to request a
stoppage. WCU would then score 14 of the next 18 points, knifing the advantage
to an uncomfortable three points.
Queens – as it did all night – had a nearly immediate answer.
The Royals went on a quick 7-0 run, keyed by a Leo Colimerio fast-break bucket
that spurred the crowd. Colimerio had a conversation with Leonard on the
sideline a bit earlier in the half, which the coach recapped after the game.
“(I told him) that we believe in him, he’s a really good
player, and that he needs to just let it happen,” Leonard said. “Most days in
practice, he’s our best player. He hasn’t gotten comfortable yet, but he will.
He’s a really talented kid.”
When Anderson wasn’t filling up the basket, center Malcolm
Wilson was grabbing errant shots and blocking shots away from it. Wilson
followed up his 11-rebound, eight-block effort from Monday’s season-opener with
a 12-rebound, six-block night Friday.
“Those plays are just energizing for me,” Wilson said. “When
I get blocks, it helps me out. Seeing my team play as well as we did – we were
all just playing for each other, so that’s what’s most important.”
Wilson’s continued development has been a clear source of
pride for Leonard.
“This is why we (coach),” Leonard said. “I always say that
you never give up on a big man, because they mature slower. For a kid that is
the quality of human being that he is – the intelligence and how he treats
other people – for him to put in the work and get rewarded for it is amazing.
“Basketball can humble people. He was a highly-ranked kid
who went to Georgetown – an elite level school – and he was humbled a bit. I
think he thought it was going to be instant pudding (at Queens) and he was
humbled a bit again, and he didn’t give in. He kept working. Credit to (former
Queens assistant) Walt Belcher, credit to (strength coach) Matt Donelson,
credit to coach (Adam) Short on our staff. They’ve worked with him day in and
day out. Malcolm really believes and he’s done a great job.”
Queens continued to keep Western Carolina at arm’s length
through the second half, owing largely to the play of Anderson and Wilson.
Point guard Bryce Cash helped set up Royal buckets, snaring five boards and
dishing nine dimes.
“Bryce had nine assists and two turnovers, so we’ve probably
got to give him the ball more and let him make the decisions,” Leonard said. “I
thought he and Malcolm were really good at what they’re good at. Malcolm
protected the rim and rebounded, and he set screens and got out of them. Bryce
made great decisions with the ball.”
Anderson’s 24 points represented the only double-digit
Queens scorer, though he led all scorers on the night. Forward Yoav Berman
finished a point and a rebound shy of a double-double, while Colimerio added
eight. The Royals shot 31.4 percent (22-for-70) on the night, with 8-of-31
(25.8 percent) of their threes finding the net. Queens outrebounded Western
Carolina, 51-47, with a 17-12 advantage on the offensive boards.
Pelote paced Western Carolina with a 15-point, 16-board
double-double, though he hit just 5-of-18 from the deck (1-for-7 from three)
and 4-for-7 from the line. Forward Vernon Collins added 12 in reserve duty,
procuring seven caroms. The Catamounts shot 31.3 percent (21-for-67) from the
floor but hit just 14.3 percent (3-for-21) from distance.
Queens now heads to Utah to start a three-game road swing.
The Royals travel to the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City to take on Utah
Tuesday night. Tip time is set for 9:00 (Eastern), with coverage on ESPN+.
QUEENS 67, WESTERN
CAROLINA 54
WESTERN CAROLINA (1-1)
Stansberry 0-8 0-0 0, Pelote 5-18 4-7
15, Emery 3-12 2-2 9, Livingston 2-6 0-0 4, Kell 4-9 0-2 8, McKey 1-1 1-1 3,
Hyland 0-1 0-0 0, Morgan 1-3 0-0 3, Collins 5-9 2-4 12. Totals 21-67 9-16 54.
QUEENS (2-0)
Cash 2-8 0-0 4, Ashby 2-9 0-0 6, Colimerio
4-11 0-3 8, Berman 3-8 2-2 9, Wilson 3-5 1-4 7, Mann 0-1 2-2 2, Mathews 1-5 0-0
2, Jabriel 0-2 0-0 0, Anderson 5-14 10-12 24, Pollard 2-7 0-0 5. Totals 22-70
15-23 67.
Halftime: Queens 28-20.
3-Point goals: Queens 8-31 (Cash 0-3, Ashby 2-7, Colimerio 0-2,
Berman 1-4, Mann 0-1, Mathews 0-1, Jabriel 0-2, Anderson 4-8, Pollard 1-3),
Western Carolina 3-21 (Stansberry 0-5, Pelote 1-7, Emery 1-4, Livingston 0-2,
Kell 0-1, Morgan 1-2). Fouled out: NA Rebounds: Queens
51 (Wilson 12)), Western Carolina 47 (Pelote 16). Total fouls: Western
Carolina 22, Queens 15. Technicals: NA.
Points off turnovers: Queens
19, Western Carolina 11. Points in the paint: Western
Carolina 36, Queens 28 Second-chance points: Western
Carolina 15, Queens 13. Fast-break points: Queens 18,
Western Carolina 11. Bench points: Queens 33, Western
Carolina 18.
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