CHARLOTTE – No ASUN game is ever easy. For Queens, trying to bounce back from a
three-game losing streak was daunting enough. Seeing Jordan Mincy’s physical
and talented Jacksonville Dolphins on the visiting bench didn’t make the
challenge any easier.
After a 40-minute battle that Queens led for the final 34
minutes or so, the Royals finally fended off the Dolphins, 93-84, at Curry Arena Thursday night. Queens led by
as many as 20 points in the game, only for Jacksonville to fight back late. Five
Royals finished in double figures, all notching between 13 and 17 points on the
night.
You know what happened – now, let’s go…Inside the Numbers!
- After Jacksonville took its final lead of the game at 13-12, Queens tore off an 18-7 burst to take a 30-20 lead. The Royals maintained a double-digit lead for much of the remainder of the game. Jacksonville coach Jordan Mincy spoke after the game about the early Royals charge.
“I thought in the first half – just
giving a lot of props to Queens – they came out and they punched us right in
the mouth,” Mincy said. “They showed a level of physicality on both ends. I was
highly impressed with how offensively they just took it to us. I thought our
guys really shied away from contact early.”
- Queens flirted with a record for the Division I era of its program, finishing with just five turnovers – one away from its record of four. Jacksonville converted those turnovers into just four points. At the 5:27 mark of the game, the Royals had committed just two miscues that resulted in zero Dolphin points.
“That’s a huge deal (against) them,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said. “Anytime you give them free baskets, it really hurts. I thought we did a good job of minimizing their easy ones. They hit a lot of tough twos, and that’s what we wanted them to do. Twos hurt, but threes kill. I thought we did a great job. They only got off 16 threes, and we really protected the paint.”
- Jacksonville got 28 points off its bench, including 18 from sophomore guard Chris Arias. Mincy cited the impact Arias made in keeping his team in the game.
“I was really happy with Chris,” Mincy said. “He’s a guy who’s been battling through some injuries. He started off league play really well. He loves shooting the ball. He was our leading scorer in (non-conference play). He’s the guy who came into league play with a lot of expectations.”
“At the same time, dealing with the injuries – just to see him get out there and kind of get back in a rhythm, I think that will bode well for us in the future.”
- Queens emphasized getting its identity back entering Thursday’s game. Leonard explained after the game what that meant and how the Royals did so.
“Taking care of the ball is a huge thing for us. Winning the offensive rebound battle, which we won. Winning the turnover battle, which we won,” Leonard said. “We got off more threes than they did, even though I thought they did a good job of limiting us. We almost won (at) the free throw line. Those are the four areas we’re trying to win every game.”
- Freshman guard Isaiah Henry played key minutes Thursday, throwing down a thunderous dunk and drawing praise from Leonard.
“I’d say (the dunk) was (a) top-five (play),” Henry said after the game. “Definitely in high school, I had a few better dunks. That’s definitely up there in the top five. I’d say (it was the best at Queens). That or the Arkansas one.”
“I’m proud of Zay,” Leonard added. “Think about this – he hadn’t played a lot lately, and I thought that was a misstep by me. We shortened the rotation to maybe get more efficient, but I thought it caused (guard) Chris (Ashby) and (guard) Carson (Schwieger) to be tired down the stretch in the last few games. I just thought (Henry) did an unbelievable job. We wouldn’t have won that game without Zay.”
- Schwieger and guard/forward Maban Jabriel shifted into the paint to help stem Jacksonville’s physical tide. Leonard was pleased with their play.
“Maban got a bunch of steals, and to force them into 12 turnovers, I thought Maban got his hands on a bunch of different balls today. Then, there’s the possibility that our baseline out of bounds defense caused more turnovers than it has all year. That was (forward) Avantae (Parker) and Maban’s activity on the ball. That’s a huge deal for us – the switchability.”
“(Forward Yoav) Berman’s done an unbelievable job. He guards point guards. He guards five men. He walls up. Sometimes he’s our most physical defender – even more than Tae. That flexibility and versatility is a huge deal for us.”
- Queens has a tough stretch of games ahead, despite their next three being at home. Leonard was in no mood to look ahead after this game, however.
“It was just today that mattered,” Leonard said. “For our guys to get their confidence back – they know they’re a good team. To get back in the win column was a big deal. We’ll move on to Saturday’s (Homecoming game against North Florida) after midnight. I don’t even want to talk about next week, because that doesn’t matter. What matters is North Florida now. What mattered today was JU, and JU is a formidable opponent. I’m just glad we handled it.”
- Mincy felt Jacksonville played better in the second half, even if the scoreboard did not always indicate that.
“I think our guys really focused in (during the second half),” Mincy said. “In the first half, we felt like we didn’t really stick to the scouting report. They have deadly shooters, and we allowed those guys to have six threes (in the first half). Anytime you let Queens get more than 10 threes (the Royals finished with eight), it’s going to be a hard night for you.”
- Mincy’s message for his team was one of perseverance.
“I told them to keep their heads up,” Mincy said. “We understand that it’s a long season. When you look at the box scores, man, everybody in the league is neck-and-neck. Historically, everybody knows this program. We’re really good when it comes to the conference tournament. For me, it’s just game-by-game. I told them the same thing – it’s game-by-game.”
“I understand we lost to Queens here. You might see them in the tournament. You’ve just got to be ready to go. We’re going to take this as a learning lesson and just keep moving forward.”
Queens shot 54.1 percent (33-for-61) on the night, adding 47.1 percent (8-for-17) of its tries from distance to the total. The Royals shot 19-for-26 (73.1 percent) from the stripe. Berman led Queens with 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting and 4-for-6 from the line. Nas Mann contributed 15 on 5-for-11 shooting and 4-for-4 on free throws. Jabriel tallied 14 in reserve duty, while Parker and freshman guard Jordan Watford added 13 apiece.
Jacksonville hit 51 percent (26-for-51) from the deck, with 43.8 percent (7-for-16) falling from beyond the arc. The Dolphins hit 25-of-29 (86.2 percent) from the line. Arias led all scorers with 18 on 7-of-10 shooting and 3-for-3 from the line. Power forward Donovan Rivers booked 17, bolstered by an 11-of-14 effort from the line. Guards Jaylen Jones and Hayden Wood each added 12 on 8-for-17 combined shooting, with Jason Thirdkill adding 10.
Next up: Queens remains at home for a Saturday tilt with North Florida. Tip time from Curry Arena is set for 4:00 (Eastern), with ESPN+ streaming the contest. Jacksonville travels to The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga., for a Saturday outing against West Georgia. The 2:00 start will stream over ESPN+.
Hustle Stats:
Points off turnovers:
Queens 15, Jacksonville 4
Points in the paint:
Queens 46, Jacksonville 32
Second-chance points:
Jacksonville 9, Queens 8
Fast-break points:
Jacksonville 15, Queens 10
Bench points: Queens
32, Jacksonville 28
QUEENS 93, JACKSONVILLE 84
JACKSONVILLE (9-15, 4-7 ASUN)
Jones 5-8 1-2 12, Wood 3-9 4-4 12, Thirdkill 3-4 2-2 10,
Rivers 3-5 11-14 17, Sterck 2-4 0-0 5, Jordon 0-0 0-0 0, Arias 7-10 3-3 18,
Lockett 2-8 4-4 8, Udemadu 1-2 0-0 0, Caporaso 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-51 25-29 84.
QUEENS (13-11, 8-3)
Mann 5-11 4-4 15, Parker 6-10 1-4, Ashby 2-6 2-2 8,
Schwieger 3-6 0-0 8, Berman 6-8 4-6 17, Watford 4-6 5-6 13, Henry 2-5 0-0 4,
Larson 0-0 1-2 1, Jabriel 5-9 2-2 14. Totals 33-61 19-26.
Halftime: Queens 44-31. 3-Point
goals: Queens 8-17 (Mann 1-2, Ashby 2-5, Schwieger 2-5, Berman 1-2,
Jabriel 2-3), Jacksonville 7-16 (Jones 1-1, Wood 2-5, Thirdkill 2-3, Sterck
1-2, Arias 1-3, Lockett 0-2). Fouled out: NA. Rebounds: Jacksonville 30 (Arias
7), Queens 27 (Parker 6). Total fouls: Queens 24, Jacksonville 23.
Technicals: NA.
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