Queens seniors Nas Mann (1), Chris Ashby (11), and Gus Larson (7) pose with coach Grant Leonard before Saturday’s victory.\u00a0 (Photo:\u00a0 Brian Wilmer\/Daly Dose of Hoops)<\/p>\n
CHARLOTTE \u2013 On a cloudy Saturday afternoon in the
\nQueen City, there was a love story going on inside Curry Arena.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t anything to do with Valentine\u2019s Day or sappy
\nmovies. Instead, Queens fans got one final chance to show their love for a trio
\nof seniors with some of the most important entries in the Royals\u2019 history
\nbooks.<\/p>\n
Oh, and those seniors? They got in on the love, as well.<\/p>\n
Senior Nas Mann booked a career-high 26 points and hauled in
\n10 caroms for his fourth career double-double to guide four Royals in double
\nfigures. Queens also got a little getback from its first ASUN loss of the
\nseason, fending off a tough West Georgia squad, 91-84, on Senior Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cHats off to West Georgia. The transition (from Division 2
\nto Division 1) is incredibly difficult,\u201d Queens coach Grant Leonard said. \u201cI
\nthink that they have an unbelievable team. (Forward) Shelton Williams-Dryden is
\na heck of a player and they have other guys that are really good, too. I was
\nreally proud of our effort, especially defensively and with the gameplan.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Royals and Wolves were in for a showdown almost from the
\nopening jump. Queens (17-12, 12-4 ASUN) took an early lead and quickly
\nstretched the lead to six. The Royals held that lead until West Georgia scored
\nseven of nine to square the contest at 21. Javon Daniel than knocked home a
\nbucket to give the Wolves their first lead of the contest. <\/p>\n
After West Georgia led by four, the sides settled into a
\ntrade of leads that lasted until the 1:35 mark of the first half, when Mann
\nlaid one off the glass to give Queens a 37-35 lead. The Royals then went
\n2-for-1 at the end of the first half, getting a three from senior Chris Ashby
\nand a Carson Schwieger layup to take a 42-39 margin to the interval.<\/p>\n
West Georgia (12-16, 6-10 ASUN) thinly sliced the deficit to
\none with a Kenneth Chime bucket on the first possession of the second half.
\nThat Queens lead stayed within two possessions for the next eight minutes, as
\nthe Royals continued to counterpunch on every Wolves basket. The lead was at
\nfour with eight-and-a-half minutes remaining, before back-to-back buckets from
\nAvantae Parker and Jordan Watford doubled the lead back to eight.<\/p>\n
Josh Smith canned a jumper just inside five-and-a-half
\nminutes remaining to bring West Georgia back within seven. Mann then landed a 1-2
\ncombo that staggered the Wolves and almost put them down for the count.<\/p>\n
Mann drove the lane with just fewer than five minutes
\nremaining and put home a bucket through contact, putting the Royals ahead nine
\nat 79-70. Though the free throw attempt was errant, Queens snared the board and
\nfired to Mann on the left side of the perimeter. Mann splashed a
\nlightly-contested triple and let out a yell as Queens seized a 12-point lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the heat of the moment, we\u2019re really just trying to win,\u201d
\nMann said of the sequence. \u201cEvery game is important, but this one just felt a
\nlittle more special. My whole family\u2019s here. It\u2019s my last time being on the
\ncourt with these guys here at Curry Arena. To hit that shot is really a dream
\ncome true, just to finish the way we just did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Queens coach Grant Leonard also felt the gravity of the
\nsequence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was huge. I thought that kind of like \u2013 it wasn\u2019t the
\nnail in the coffin, but it definitely put the top on it,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cNas has
\nmade those types of plays all year and I expect nothing less. I know Nas is
\ngoing to come up with the ball when it counts and he does.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes, I look down and we have seven or eight guys. I
\ndon\u2019t know who to play at the end of the games. Different guys have different
\nstrengths, but Nas has come up with a lot of winning plays. He does a lot of
\nthings that aren\u2019t even in the stat book. I really appreciate that, and I know that
\nwas a big-time play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leonard\u2019s comment told the tale. The Royals never led by
\nfewer than seven the rest of the way, despite the Wolves making several late
\ncharges.<\/p>\n
The finish marked a fitting celebration for the three
\nseniors, who all made key contributions Saturday afternoon and throughout their
\ntime as Royals. Mann tallied the double-double, while Ashby and Larson combined
\nfor 15. <\/p>\n
As for the love story, well\u2026all three of the seniors spoke
\nof that, too.<\/p>\n
Ashby found love for the Queens program. The Texas native
\ndescribed Queens as \u201chome\u201d and talked Saturday afternoon about the place he
\nchose to stay to pursue this exact type of season, instead of leaving for
\ngreener \u2013 financially or otherwise \u2013 pastures.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Queens) just means a lot to me,\u201d Ashby said. \u201cComing out
\nof junior college, I didn\u2019t really have a lot of coaches believing in me.
\nQueens and Coach Grant were the only ones that did. I really appreciate them
\nfor that.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot a lot of guys can say they have a home. I\u2019m very
\nappreciative for the coaching staff. I\u2019ve made a lot of friends here in
\nCharlotte, and my teammates\u2026I love them.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Larson and Mann, they found their love for the game.
\nBoth came from situations that left them searching for that element, and Queens
\nhelped them find it.<\/p>\n
\u201cQueens has been a bit of a resolution,\u201d Larson said. \u201cThere
\nhave been a lot of ups and downs with basketball. If you look at my resume, I\u2019ve
\nbeen a little bit all over the place, so I admire guys like Chris, who have
\nbeen here all four years.<\/p>\n
\u201cQueens has been a place that has just kind of put it all at
\nease. It has allowed me to really find a love and a passion for the game of
\nbasketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mann voiced a similar message.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, Queens is just the place where I found my love for
\nthe game again,\u201d Mann said. \u201cI was falling out of love with it. I just didn\u2019t
\nenjoy it anymore. I really didn\u2019t want to play anymore. I came here and met
\nsome great guys last year and this year. It\u2019s probably the most fun I\u2019ve ever
\nhad in basketball, period.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just so happy. I love these guys. I\u2019m sad, but I\u2019m not
\ngoing to shed a tear. Trust me, I\u2019m a little emotional right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leonard spoke of the impact the trio has had on Queens\u2019 success
\non and off the court and its most successful Division 1 season in conference
\nplay.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that we\u2019re supposed to say we want to win games, but
\nreally, we\u2019re supposed to build community through basketball, and to do that,
\nyou\u2019ve got to build an environment guys want to be in,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cI really
\nbelieve if you do it the right way, if you build it the right way through
\nteaching and positivity \u2013 the mission is to serve them, not (to have) them
\nserve us. Our school mission is not to be served, but to serve. It\u2019s been my
\npleasure to serve these guys.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really is a huge deal that not only did they find their
\nlove for basketball here, but I really believe that that when they have kids
\nand they\u2019re going to show their kids where they played, it\u2019s going to be here.
\nThat makes me proud that we did it right and that Queens did it right. It\u2019s not
\njust basketball, it\u2019s the whole community. I\u2019m just super proud of what these
\nguys have accomplished and what they\u2019ve been able to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mann\u2019s 26 and 10 paced the Royals in both categories. Guard
\nYoav Berman and forward Avantae Parker contributed 15 apiece, combining to
\nknock down 8-of-14 tries from the field. Jordan Watford added 14 in reserve
\nduty, hitting 4-of-5 from the deck and 6-of-8 from the line. <\/p>\n
Queens shot 51.7 percent from the field (30-for-58), despite
\nhitting just 3-of-20 (15 percent) from beyond the arc. The Royals hit 77.8
\npercent (29-of-36) from the line. Queens committed just four turnovers in the
\ngame, leading to just seven West Georgia points.<\/p>\n
Smith led West Georgia with 20, hitting 8-of-13 from the
\nfloor (2-of-5 from three) and 2-of-3 from the line. Chime, Williams-Dryden, and
\nMatija Zuzic added 14 apiece, hitting a combined 15-of-31 tries from the field.
\nKolten Griffin booked 12 on 5-of-10 from the field.<\/p>\n
The Wolves hit 48.5 percent (32-for-66) from the field and 30
\npercent (6-for-20) from three. West Georgia knocked down 73.7 percent
\n(14-for-19) from the line.<\/p>\n
Queens begins its final week of regular-season ASUN play Wednesday,
\ntraveling to Baptist Health Arena in Richmond, Ky., to battle Eastern Kentucky.
\nTip time is set for 7:00 (Eastern), with ESPN+ handling streaming coverage.
\nWest Georgia returns home to The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga., to face Lipscomb
\nWednesday night. ESPN+ will air the telecast beginning at 7:00.<\/p>\n
QUEENS 91, WEST GEORGIA 84<\/p>\n
WEST GEORGIA (12-16, 6-10 ASUN)<\/p>\n
Hardewig 1-4 0-0 2, Williams-Dryden 6-12 2-3 14, Griffin
\n5-10 1-2 12, Chime 6-10 2-3 14, Noel 1-3 1-1 3, Shegog 0-0 0-0 0, Daniel 2-5
\n0-0 5, Zuzic 3-9 6-7 14, Smith 8-13 2-3 20. Totals 32-66 14-19 84.<\/p>\n
QUEENS (17-12, 12-4)<\/p>\n
Mann 10-14 5-7 26, Larson 3-3 2-2 8, Ashby 2-7 1-1 7,
\nSchwieger 2-10 0-0 4, Berman 3-7 9-9 15, Watford 4-5 6-8 14, Henry 1-1 0-0 2,
\nParker 5-7 5-9 15, Jabriel 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 30-58 28-36 91.<\/p>\n
Halftime:\u00a0\u00a0Queens 42-39. 3-Point
\ngoals:\u00a0\u00a0West Georgia 6-20 (Hardewig 0-3, Williams-Dryden 0-2, Griffin
\n1-2, Noel 0-1, Daniel 1-2, Zuzic 2-5, Smith 2-5), Queens 3-20 (Mann 1-3, Ashby
\n2-6, Schwieger 0-6, Berman 0-2, Watford 0-1, Jabriel 0-2). Fouled out:\u00a0 NA.\u00a0 Rebounds:\u00a0\u00a0West
\nGeorgia 36 (Chime 11), Queens 33 (Mann 10). Total fouls:\u00a0\u00a0West
\nGeorgia 23, Queens 16. Technicals:\u00a0\u00a0NA.<\/p>\n
\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queens seniors Nas Mann (1), Chris Ashby (11), and Gus Larson (7) pose with coach Grant Leonard before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-141512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}