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Follow @ASUNSports<\/a><\/p>\n JACKSONVILLE, Fla.\u00a0– The\u00a02026\u00a0Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship\u00a0is set for Sunday, March 8 with the No. 1\u00a0seed Central Arkansas Bears\u00a0taking on the No. 3\u00a0seed Queens Royals\u00a0at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Tipoff is slated for 2\u00a0p.m. ET with coverage available on ESPN2.<\/p>\n \u00a0#1 Central Arkansas 73, #5 FGCU 63 #3 Queens 90, #2 Austin Peay 83 Follow\u00a0@ASUNSports<\/a>\u00a0for updates throughout the postseason.<\/p>\n
\nCentral Arkansas used a strong second half and balanced scoring to defeat FGCU, 73\u201363, on Saturday afternoon at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, advancing to the tournament final. Central Arkansas led 35\u201332 at halftime and pulled away in the second half by outscoring the Eagles 38\u201331. The Bears controlled much of the contest, holding the lead for 34:53\u00a0and pushing their advantage out to as many as 10 points\u00a0late in the game. Camren Hunter led Central Arkansas with 23 points, going 7-for-19 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line while adding eight rebounds and three assists. Ty Robinson\u00a0finished with 13 points\u00a0while Cole McCormick also scored 13 points, including 3-for-6 from three-point range. Javion Guy-King\u00a0contributed 12 points and eight rebounds, helping the Bears control the glass with a 41\u201340 rebounding edge. Central Arkansas shot 26-of-60 (43.3%) from the field and knocked down 8-of-25 (32.0%) from three-point range. The Bears also made 13-of-21 free throws. FGCU was led by Michael Duax, who scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds. The Eagles shot 24-of-62 (38.7%)\u00a0from the floor and struggled from deep, finishing just 5-of-32 (15.6%)\u00a0from three-point range. Central Arkansas also received a strong boost from its bench, which outscored FGCU\u2019s reserves 21\u20136\u00a0and held a 36\u201330 advantage in points in the paint. With the win, the Bears advance to the tournament championship\u00a0where they look to earn their first ASUN Basketball Tournament title.<\/p>\n
\nQueens\u00a0used a strong offensive performance and controlled the game for most of the night to defeat Austin Peay, 90-83, on Saturday evening.\u00a0Queens jumped in front early and carried a 47-40 advantage into halftime after shooting 50 percent from the field and hitting eight three-pointers in the opening frame.\u00a0Austin Peay battled throughout the second half, matching Queens with 43 points in the period, but the Royals maintained control down the stretch to secure the seven-point victory.\u00a0Queens finished the game shooting 36-of-71 (51 percent) from the floor and connected on 12-of-27 attempts from beyond the arc (44 percent). \u00a0Austin Peay shot 30-of-62 (48 percent) overall and 6-of-22 (27 percent) from three-point range.\u00a0The Royals held the lead for 33:22 of the contest and built a game-high 12-point advantage late in the second half.\u00a0Queens generated offense in several areas, scoring 48 points in the paint and adding 11 fast-break points while getting 36 points from its bench. \u00a0Austin Peay also found success inside with 48 points in the paint and added 16 second-chance points.\u00a0The game featured eight lead changes and six ties, but Queens maintained control for most of the night and closed out the victory in the final minutes.<\/p>\n