Inside the Numbers: Central Arkansas at Queens

Queens guard Chris Ashby led all scorers Tuesday night with 25 in a Royals win over Central Arkansas.  (Photo:  Queens University of Charlotte Athletics)

 

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CHARLOTTE – Following two tough games in the Bluegrass State that Queens split, the Royals returned to their home deck Tuesday night. The stakes couldn’t have been higher for the home side. Queens sat two games out of the ASUN lead and needed a win to keep its conference title hopes alive and bolster its chances for a possible first-round home game in the conference tournament.

Queens got one of the wins it needed. The Royals bounced back from a tough, late loss at Eastern Kentucky Saturday afternoon, leading Central Arkansas by nine or more points for nearly 35 minutes Tuesday night in an 89-72 victory.

You know how it happened. Now, let’s take a somewhat unorthodox dive…Inside the Numbers!

16:  Queens canned 16 triples in the victory, a season-high for the Royals. Queens set its prior high of 14 in two games – in a November MTE against USC Upstate and …13 days ago at Central Arkansas. Queens tried a dizzying 45 threes in the win in Conway. Chris Ashby hit fewer threes Tuesday than in Conway – nine there, seven at home – but also tried 12 fewer than in the 63-47 Royals victory on the road. Queens’ prior Division I high came on January 14, 2023, as it shot 15-of-27 in a 107-78 win over North Alabama in Charlotte. The only higher output by any Division I Royal squad was on December 1, 2023, when it shot 22-of-41 in a 134-69 win over Carolina Christian.

Queens coach Grant Leonard on the shooting effort, particularly from deep:  “We do concepts and we let the guys make reads and decisions. You could see them change up their defense and it didn’t affect our offensive flow at all. We were able to attack whenever they went zone or in those traps. We were able to get the ball to the middle, get it out, and make the right decision. You saw a lob to Kalib (Mathews), you saw a backside three to Chris, and those are back-breaking plays as they’re trying to create a stop on a timeout or a dead ball.”

55.2:  The Royals also turned in a season-high in three-point percentage, as they knocked down 16-of-29 tries from deep. Chris Ashby led the home side with a 7-for-14 effort, but six Royals booked at least one triple in the game. Of the shooters aside from Ashby who hit one, that group of five shot 75 percent (9-of-12) from distance.

30:  Queens turned in one of – if not its best – points off turnover totals of the season. The Royals converted 27 turnovers by Division 3 Lynchburg into 33 points earlier in the campaign. This number was significant, given the Royals’ 18 turnovers at Eastern Kentucky. Queens compelled 18 Bear miscues Tuesday, which was the highest total it has recorded against a D1 foe this year.

Leonard on turnovers:  “I was really happy that our guys were able to execute the gameplan. The biggest thing is that I thought for large portions of the game, we played harder, we were first to the floor, and our ball pressure created 18 turnovers. Anytime there’s 18 turnovers for them and seven for us, it’s a huge deal.”

Central Arkansas coach John Shulman on turnovers:  "Their pressure bothered us. Give them credit, they pressured us defensively and we didn't handle it very well. We had to go away from Princeton (offense) and do some ball-screen stuff, and that's disappointing. If you're going to try to be a Princeton offense, you have to be able to claim your space and we were never able to do that. We had nine assists and 18 turnovers. Looking at that, we should have gotten beat by 40 points.”

36:  The Queens bench tallied 40.45 percent of its points Tuesday, logging 36 points and allowing Leonard to perform some much-needed load management. The Royals employed hockey line changes at times, allowing everyone to play no greater than 27 minutes in the game. Queens is a top-15 unit in Division 1 in bench scoring, and Tuesday's total was bolstered by Maban Jabriel (14) and Yoav Berman (10) both reaching double figures.

Forward Leo Colimerio on the Queens bench:  “Not a lot of teams have a great bench like us. Our main focus was to get their starters tired and then get a run in the second half. I feel like we did a good job. I feel like we have the best bench in the conference and today it showed.”

Leonard on the bench and the team as a whole:  “I think we have a true identity. I think that there are times and moments where we play ‘take your soul’ hard, and that’s when we’re really good. When we’re crushing teams on the glass and wearing teams out with our bench – 36 bench points – for us, it’s a collective effort. I think our guys understand our identity and understand their roles. They really believe that if we’re the hardest-playing guys, we can make a run in the conference tournament.”

7:  Queens tied its season-low in turnovers against a Division 1 foe. The Royals coughed it up just seven times Tuesday, equaling the team’s turnover total in a home loss to Lipscomb 10 days prior.

Leonard:  “When we take care of the ball, I think this group’s special.”

24:  The Royals helped on 24-of-28 buckets, making for the second-highest assists total Leonard’s team has recorded this year. Queens dropped 25 dimes on 35 baskets in a 95-60 win at Stetson on January 16.

Leonard:  “When we don’t (get stagnant and play in isolation), when the ball flows and moves, we’re really good.”

5:  Queens center Malcolm Wilson stuffed five Bear field goal attempts, cementing his status as the nation’s leader in blocked shots. Wilson’s defensive presence allowed the Royals to extend defensive pressure further up the floor. The game marked Wilson’s 12th with five or more blocks this season.

Leonard on Wilson:  “It’s a big deal (having him in the middle). There were a couple times when they broke our press and funneled it right to Malcolm, and he was able to erase a mistake or two. More importantly, it allows guys to feel like, even in the half court and our base defense, they can pressure the ball, and if they get beat, it’s not the end of the world. Having the nation’s leading shot-blocker back there is just huge. It’s a confidence booster for our guys to know they can really ramp up the intensity in the half-court.”

14:  Jabriel logged the second-highest points total of his freshman campaign. The Canadian sank 5-of-8 tries – 4-of-6 from three – to finish within one point of his 15-point total at Ole Miss earlier in the year.

6:  Queens forward Leo Colimerio booked one-quarter of his team’s aforementioned 24 assists. This marked the ninth time this year the grad transfer has collected five or more helpers in a game.

22:  Queens boarded just 22 misses Tuesday night. The total was their lowest in a victory all season. The Royals tallied 20 in a loss at BYU earlier this season.

Ashby led all scorers with 25 for Queens, hitting 7-of-14 from distance. Colimerio contributed 15 on 5-of-9 from the deck and 5-of-7 from the line. Jabriel booked 14, with Mathews recording 11 and Berman 10.

Guard Brayden Fagbemi paced Central Arkansas with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting (4-of-6 from three). Forward Elias Cato returned to the Bears’ lineup and added 15 on 3-of-7 shooting (8-of-9 from the line). Guard Mike Evbagharu hit 5-of-9 tries to tally 12, while forward Nehemiah Turner added 11.

Quick tempo numbers:

Central Arkansas:  1.091 PPP (66 trips), 45.5% scores, 27.3% turns, 47.9% shooting (23-48), 43.5% three-point shooting (10-23), 88.9% free throw shooting (16-18)

Queens:  1.435 PPP (62 trips), 58.1% scores, 11.3% turns, 53.8% shooting (28-52), 55.2% three-point shooting (16-29), 77.3% free throw shooting (17-22)

Both teams resume play Thursday. Queens welcomes Austin Peay to Curry Arena for its final home game of the regular season. Tip time is set for 7:00 (Eastern), with streaming coverage over ESPN+. Central Arkansas travels to West Georgia to do battle with the Wolves. The Bears and Wolves are tied for the final spot in the ASUN conference tournament with three games remaining. Tip time from Carrollton is set for 7:45, with ESPN+ handling the streaming coverage.

QUEENS 89, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 72

CENTRAL ARKANSAS (7-21, 3-12 ASUN)

Fagbemi 7-10 1-2 19, Turner 3-5 5-5 11, Evbagharu 5-9 0-0 12, McCormick 1-7 0-0 3, Cato 3-7 8-9 15, Etim 0-0 0-0 0, West 0-0 0-0 0, Dehrmann 0-0 0-0 0, Mancell 0-1 0-0 0, Fox 3-6 0-0 8, Seixas 1-3 2-2 4. Totals 23-48 16-18 72.

QUEENS (17-11, 10-5)

Mathews 3-5 4-4 11, Cash 0-1 0-1 0, Ashby 7-15 4-4 25, Colimerio 5-9 5-7 15, Wilson 1-1 0-0 2, Mann 0-3 1-2 1, Shine 0-0 0-0 0, Jabriel 5-8 0-0 14, Nevill 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 1-1 0-0 3, Pollard 3-4 1-2 8, Berman 3-5 2-2 10. Totals 28-52 17-22 89.

Halftime:  Queens 42-31. 3-Point goals:  Queens 16-29 (Mathews 1-1, Ashby 7-14, Colimero 0-2, Mann 0-1, Jabriel 4-6, Anderson 1-1, Pollard 1-1, Berman 2-3), Central Arkansas 10-23 (Fagbemi 4-6, Evbagharu 2-4, McCormick 1-6, Cato 1-2, Fox 2-3, Seixas 0-2). Fouled out:  NA.  Rebounds:  Central Arkansas 31 (Evbagharu 5), Queens 22 (Jabriel 6). Total fouls:  Central Arkansas 17, Queens 17. Technicals:  Turner (UCA).

Points off turnovers:  Queens 30, Central Arkansas 7.  Points in the paint:  Queens 24, Central Arkansas 22. Second-chance points:  Central Arkansas 7, Queens 5.  Fast-break points:  Queens 12, Central Arkansas 4.  Bench points:  Queens 36, Central Arkansas 12.