The Colonels (4-10, 0-1 ASUN) had one-point lead with just over five minutes left in regulation, but Queens University rallied for a 91-89 victory on Thursday in Charlotte, N.C.
The game was the Atlantic Sun Conference opener for both teams.
Montavious Myrick’s two free throws with 5:36 to play put EKU on top 75-74. Maban Jabriel answered with a three-pointer on the other end — and Queens led the rest of the way.
The Royals pushed ahead by seven, 85-78, with 2:23 left in the game before the Colonels attempted a furious late rally. Juan Cranford Jr. hit a thre-pointer and Jackson Holt put back a miss with a reverse layup to close within four, 87-83. Austin Ball’s three from the left corner got EKU within three, 89-86. Cranford hit another three-pointer, this time from the left wing, with eight seconds left to make it a 2-point game, 91-89.
Queens missed two free throws and EKU got off a 3-quarter court attempt for the win at the buzzer that missed.
MJ Williams finished with a game-best 18 points for the Colonels. Myrick had 16 points and seven rebounds.
Jordan Watford led the Royals (6-8, 1-0 ASUN) with 17 points.
Seven-straight points with about five minutes left in the first half allowed the Royals to move out in front by nine, their largest lead of the game. An old-fashioned three-point play from Avantae Parker capped the run and made it 44-35 with 3:59 to go before intermission.
The Colonels answered by getting hot from behind the arc to fuel their own run. After a dunk by Myrick, EKU’s final four baskets of the half were three-pointers, three of which came from Williams.
The freshman guard hit one from the left wing and Turner Buttry knocked down a three from the right corner to close the gap to one, 44-43. A triple from the left corner by Williams with 1:07 on the clock gave the Colonels the lead, 46-44. After Queens tied it with a layup, Williams capped the 14-2 run on a three from the right wing with 16 seconds left in the opening half.
The Colonels were up 49-46 at halftime.
EKU shot 60% from the field in the first half, going 7-of-16 (55%) from deep. Queens hit on 50% of its first half shots, but made only 2-of-12 from behind the arc. Williams had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the first 20 minutes of play.
The Colonels moved out in front by six, 56-50, on a dunk from Myrick early in the second half. The Royals tied it at 56-56 and then knotted it up again at 58-58. A three-pointer from Holt, another dunk by Myrick and two free throws from Williams gave the visitors a 65-50 lead with 11:34 to go. EKU led by four before Queens scored eight straight. Carson Schwieger’s three-pointer with 8:25 remaining gave the Royals a four-point lead, 71-67.
Holt hit a pair of three-pointers to swing the lead back to the Colonels. His second with 6:48 on the clock made it 73-71. After a layup from Yoav Berman and a free throw from Schwieger pushed Queens back in front by one, 74-73, Myrick hit his two free throws to give the Colonels their final lead of the game with just over five minutes left.
EKU shot 49% for the game and finished 14-for-33 (42%) from deep. The Royals made 51% of their shots from the field and out-rebounded the Colonels 37-29.
The two teams came into the game ranked among the top-50 in the nation in three-pointers per game. The Colonels upheld their ranking, finishing with 14. The Royals fell short of their season average of 10.2, hitting just five three-pointers.
EKU will play at West Georgia on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.