CHARLOTTE – New Year’s Day marked the opening day of
ASUN conference play for 2026. Based on how Thursday’s game between Queens and
Eastern Kentucky went, it very well could have been a preview of what may take place
the final day of the league’s tournament in Jacksonville.
Queens placed five scorers in double figures and broke open
a 40-minute heavyweight bout with a late 11-3 run to finally fend off EKU,
91-89, at Curry Arena.
“Hats off to EKU,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said after the
game. “(Coach) A.W. (Hamilton)’s club has been the winningest program in the
ASUN over the last three years, and we knew they were going to come in here and
battle like crazy.”
As demonstrative as Leonard’s words were, they may have been
an understatement.
Eastern Kentucky (4-10, 0-1 ASUN) scored six of the game’s
first seven points, as Queens missed its first five shots. Avantae Parker
started the festivities for the Royals, booking an and-one that nearly erased
the Colonels’ early lead. Queens (6-8, 1-0) seized the lead with a 6-0 run that
set the tone for a back-and-forth affair until the final horn. The sides
struggled to create separation in an opening half that was largely separated by
no greater than two possessions.
Queens looked to gain some breathing room with a 7-0 run
that stretched the Royals’ lead to 44-35. The burst was punctuated by a high-effort
put-back bucket by Parker over two Colonels, which led to an extremely rare fist-pump
and yell from Leonard before the Royals’ big man went on to make the free
throw.
“The emphasis for us was for urgency in this game,” Leonard
said. “I thought that was our most urgent play in the entire game. (Guard)
Chris (Ashby) pulled up for three, which is what we wanted him to do. Avantae
went up one-on-two and won the ball and put it back in for an and-one.”
Leonard then addressed Parker’s earning the team’s adopted
mascot, Buddy the Street Dog.
“He’s got Buddy the Street Dog for a reason,” Leonard said. “It’s
his for the day. He earned it. I thought
he was the hardest-playing guy on the floor.”
The burst would be quickly countered, however. Eastern
Kentucky closed the half on a 14-2 run, buoyed by four straight three-pointers –
three of them from guard MJ Williams – to take a 49-46 advantage to the
interval. Despite the quick burst, Williams would manage just two second-half
points – largely because of a reminder from Leonard and his staff.
“I had some choice words for them (at the half),” Leonard
said. “He’s one-hand dominant and he’s small, so he shouldn’t be able to shoot
over you. If he’s shooting (over you), there’s not enough ball pressure being
applied. I thought (that) in the second half, he was way more contested, there
was way more pressure, and he was way more sped-up.”
Queens bounced back from the break with three consecutive
Parker buckets as part of a run that again leveled the score at 56 following a
Yoav Berman basket. The sequence of ties and narrow leads for both sides again
ensued throughout much of the second half, creating similar drama to a game
played in March. Even when Carson Schwieger canned a triple in front of the
Royals’ bench to extend the lead to four, the fans seemed unable to exhale.
As the Royals finally managed to break free a bit with a run
in the final four-minute segment of the game, the reason Williams struggled in
the second half also proved to be the catalyst for Queens – freshman guard
Jordan Watford. Watford got it done on defense, providing several key stops,
including one on Colonels guard Turner Buttry that jarred the ball loose and
compelled a 10-second violation. He got it done on offense, recording six
straight Royal points during the surge. Most importantly, he got it done by
responding to his coach’s challenge.
“(Leonard) told me straight up that you can’t play if you’re
not going to guard,” Watford said. “That’s kind of been the label on me –
people have been saying I can’t guard. That’s not the label I want. I want to
be able to show I can guard.”
“(That was) unbelievable character from Jordan,” Leonard
added. “To take that – to get put on the bench and to respond. In the first
half, he was by far the best defensive player (at) pressuring the ball. That’s
character, and I appreciate that from Jordan. He’s always had it. Now he’s just
got to maintain it.”
Berman proved to be another defensive standout. As effective
as Berman was on the offensive end of the floor, his slowing down of EKU
forward Montavious Myrick earned special plaudits from Leonard.
“Berman’s a fantastic player, and I wouldn’t be shocked if
he’s our leading scorer at the end of (the) conference (season). He’s actually
been one of our best defenders, as well,” Leonard said. “He guarded Myrick a
bunch down the stretch and did the best job on him.”
“Hats off to Berman. He can guard guards. He can guard
forwards. He’s really physical, and his basketball IQ is off the charts. I’m
really happy with where Berman’s at.”
Ashby also broke an 0-for-15 string from three during the
game, draining a triple in front of the Royals’ bench. Leonard has full
confidence in his star guard.
“He was 1-for-8 -- alright, he was 1-for-8, and I wish he had
shot more, but he's still a plus in the plus-minus, and Chris is a leader by
example,” Leonard said. “He's often the toughest dude. He never says anything
(negative).”
“We all love Chris, and he makes every single guy on our
team better, because of the way he practices and how hard he works. We all
trust Chris. Chris is an unbelievable
player.”
Eastern Kentucky coach A.W. Hamilton offered praise for
Queens after the game.
“Give them credit,” Hamilton said. “They got 50 points in
the paint. They got the calls and they outplayed us. We had a shot right at the
end. We let this one get away.”
Watford led Queens with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting and
5-for-5 from the line in 19 minutes of reserve duty, logging a team-leading plus-20
during his time on the floor. Parker booked 16 and a season-high eight boards.
Berman tallied 14 on 6-for-9 shooting, while Nas Mann knocked down 7-of-8 free
throw tries to finish with 12. Maban Jabriel logged 11 in 19 minutes off the
bench.
The Royals shot 50.8 percent (31-for-61) from the field,
shaking off a 5-for-24 (20.8 percent) effort from distance. Queens also shot
77.4 percent (24-for-31) from the line.
Williams led EKU and all scorers with 18, hitting 6-of-12
from the field and 4-of-8 from three. Myrick added 16 on 6-of-12 shooting. Buttry
finished with 14, while Jackson Holt poured in 13 off the bench and Juan
Cranford tallied 12. The Colonels shot 49.2 percent (30-for-61) while hitting
42.4 percent (14-for-33) from beyond the arc. EKU hit 71.4 percent (15-for-21) from the stripe.
Eastern Kentucky travels to The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga.,
to take on West Georgia Saturday afternoon. Tip time is set for 2:00 (Eastern),
with streaming planned for ESPN+. Queens remains at home to welcome Bellarmine
to Curry Arena. Game time is set for 3:00, with ESPN+ handling the coverage.
QUEENS 91, EASTERN KENTUCKY 89
EASTERN KENTUCKY (4-10, 0-1 ASUN)
Buttry 3-7 5-5 14, Cranford 4-13 2-2 12, Myrick 6-12 4-9
16, Ball 2-4 0-0 6, Paul 2-2 2-2 6, Williams 6-12 2-3 18, Harris 0-0 0-0 0,
Cooper 2-3 0-0 4, Holt 5-9 0-0 13, White 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-61 15-21 89.
QUEENS (6-8, 1-0)
Mann 2-8 7-8 12, Parker 6-7 4-9 16, Ashby 1-8 0-0 3,
Schwieger 3-7 1-2 9, Berman 6-9 2-2 14, Watford 6-10 5-5 17, Henry 0-1 2-2 2,
Clark 1-3 0-0 2, Larson 2-3 1-1 5, Jabriel 4-5 2-2 11. Totals 30-58 15-21 82.
Halftime: Eastern Kentucky 49-46. 3-Point
goals: EKU 14-33 (Buttry 3-7, Cranford 2-9, Ball 2-4, Williams 4-8,
Holt 3-5), Queens 5-24 (Mann 1-4, Ashby 1-8, Schwieger 2-6, Berman 0-2, Clark
0-2, Jabriel 1-2). Fouled out: NA.
Rebounds: Queens 37 (Parker 8), EKU 29 (Myrick 7). Total
fouls: EKU 26, Queens 18. Technicals: NA.
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