CHARLOTTE, N.C.- Trailing by as many as 30 during the game, the Queens men’s basketball team battled back to within nine with just over 1:30 to play, but they couldn’t shave off the remaining points to make the comeback and upset the No. 4 seed Pfeiffer Falcons in the quarterfinal round of the Conference Carolinas tournament. The Royals (13-15 overall/10-10 CC) were the No. 5 seed in the tournament and fell 112-93 in Misenheimer, N.C.
Pfeiffer (18-9 overall/13-7 CC) managed to build a 30 point lead just before the end of the first half and carried a 22 point margin at the end of the first stanza, 58-36.
Queens was on a 16-4 run that stretched from the last three minutes in the first half through the first four in the second half to cut the lead down to 18.
In the last 10 minutes the Royals offense hit three three’s and went 5-6 from the floor for a stretch while the defense created five turnovers to help bring Pfeiffer within nine points with 1:42 left on the clock.
Free throws and a last second three by Pfeiffer’s Levi Moore put the Falcons back out by 19 to win the game 112-93.
The Royals outscored the Falcons 57-54 in the second half and improved in all shooting categories from the first half to the second.
Five Royals scored in double-digits with
Sean Eads (Greenville, S.C., Eastside) leading the way with 15. Eads was 3-5 from behind the arch and 2-3 at the free throw line.
Antonio Stabler (Garner, N.C., Wakefield) scored 13,
Andre Lockhart (St. James, Barbados, Coleridge and Pany) added 12 and
Daniel Bailey (Irmo, S.C., Hammond ) and
Brandon Nichols (Fayetteville, N.C., Jack Britt) each contributed 10, respectively.
Pfeiffer was led by James Crowder with 31 points. The conference’s second-leading scorer Chris Woods, who averages 21.5ppg, was held to 18.
This was the third meeting for the two teams this season with Pfeiffer winning both of the previous meetings.