CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A 16-0 run in the first half gave Queens and upper hand that they would never relinquish in an 88-67 win over Lenoir-Rhyne in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Semifinal.

GAME INFORMATION:
Final: Queens 88, Lenoir-Rhyne 67
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (9-7, 8-6 SAC) | Queens (16-4, 13-3 SAC)
Location: Curry Arena

STATS AND INFO:
- This is the fourth straight year that Lenoir-Rhyne and Queens have met in the SAC Tournament with Queens owning a 3-1 record
- Lenoir-Rhyne is 26-23 all-time in South Atlantic Conference Tournament history
- The semifinal and final are normally hosted by Furman University but have gone to the higher seed this season
- Darius Simmons nearly missed back-to-back 30-point games as he scored 28 points on 8-of-13 shooting
- Simmons moved to 27^th on the all-time scoring list at Lenoir-Rhyne with his performance

FIRST HALF:
- A jumper by R.J. Gunn evened the game at eight before the Royals surged ahead
- A 16-3 run pushed the Royals edge to 24-11
-  A 3-pointer by Cooper Fowler cut the Queens lead to 26-16 but the Royals responded with 16 unanswered points
-  The Royals outscored Lenoir-Rhyne 26-2 in the paint in the first half as they took a 52-25 advantage into the break.
- Lenoir-Rhyne shot just 21.4 percent from the field in the first half and made just six field goals. On the other end, Queens went 18-for-29 (62 percent) from the floor and 5-of-10 from long range

SECOND HALF:
- Simmons scored 20 of his points in the second half but it was too late
- The Bears outscored Queens 42-36 in the final 20 minutes
- The only other starter to score in the second half was two points from Armon Muldrew
- Jamari Smith led the Royals with 14 points in the second half as eight different players found the scoring column for the hosts

ABOUT THE BEARS:
- The 30.6 shooting percentage was the second-lowest of the season for the Bears
- Simmons was 6-of-8 from range
- Tyson McClain and R.J. Gunn led the Bears with five rebounds
- LR turned the ball over just six times

NOTABLE ROYALS:
- Smith finished with 20 points, one of four players in double figures
- The Royals recorded 50 rebounds and were +21 on the boards
- Gavin Rains recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds

UP NEXT: The Bears will turn their sights on the offseason and preparing for the 2021-22 campaign.