CHARLOTTE, N.C – The Jacksonville men's basketball team fell to the Queens University of Charlotte Royals 74-65 in what was the final road game of the Dolphins (13-14, 4-9 ASUN) regular season.

Robert McCray V scored 22 points, and Stephon Payne was one point shy of his fourth double-double of the season. However, a trio of runs from the home side proved to be enough for Queens to secure the win.
 
The Royals established two separate 11-point leads in the first half, thanks to hot shooting from AJ McKee, who scored 14 points in the first half alone. With 11:45 to play, the Dolphins trailed 16-5. Robert McCray V made two consecutive layups and added a free throw to cut the JU deficit down to six. A triple from McKee, combined with two makes from the charity stripe, brought the Queens lead back to 11. After makes from both sides, Queens went ahead 26-14. Jacksonville then went on a 9-0 run over two and a half minutes, narrowing the Royals' 12-point lead to one with 5:00 to play in the half. The rest of the way, Queens outscored JU 12-2, thanks in part to McKee's seven points in three minutes, giving the home side a 38-27 lead at the first horn.
 
Gyasi Powell opened the second half by splitting a pair of Queens triples with a three-pointer, and the Royals had their largest lead of the night at the time, 44-30, with 17 minutes to play. The Royals eventually extended their lead to 15 with exactly four minutes to play, and Jacksonville's offense began to find some rhythm down the stretch. A pair of free throws by Zach Bell and a layup from McCray brought the difference to 11, and a pair of triples from Bell and McCray, answered with free throws, narrowed the Dolphins' deficit to nine. Queens responded with a dunk, but Jarius Cook hit a quick triple, followed by a Powell layup, and JU found itself down six. The Dolphins traded layups with free throws, but eventually time expired, and Queens won on its home court.
Queens continued its fast-paced offense and defense throughout the night, which paid off in bulk for much of the game as they scored 17 points on the fast break compared to JU's four.
 
The Dolphins shut down McKee in the second half, as the junior guard had just four points after his 14 point first half. Jacksonville also outrebounded the Royals 42-34.
 
UP NEXT

The Dolphins return home for part two of the River City Rumble on Friday, February 23. The game is slated for a 7 pm tipoff and can be watched on ESPN+ or heard on 1010XL.