No. 2 Queens continues mastery of crosstown rival J.C. Smith in Tip-Off Classic finale

Queens has a good thing going at Brayboy Gym.

The Royals rolled past J.C. Smith 74-61 in the finale of the Tip-Off Classic Saturday, their fifth straight win in their cross-town rivalry and second in as many days against CIAA competition. They beat Livingstone 104-60 on Friday.

The Royals (5-0), No. 2 in Division II, broke open a close game with an 18-9 spurtto open the second half to seize a 47-32 lead with14 minutes, 22 seconds to play. Queens put its inside-out attack to work by alternating drives to the basket with perimeter shooting to loosen J.C. Smith’s (3-2) zone defense.

Five Royals hit double figures with Ike Agusi leading with 14 points and five assists, followed by Mike Davis with 13 points. J.C. Smith’s Robert Davis led all scorers with 21 points, followed by teammate Christian Kirchman’s 20.

Neither team shot particularly well in the first half, with Queens taking a 29-25 advantage at the break by connecting on 38.5 percent of its shots compared to J.C. Smith’s 33.3. Lewis Diankulu hit all four shots to lead the Royals with nine points.

Queens led by as many as 12 in the first half, but the Golden Bulls climbed back into contention behind Kirchman, who scored 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and Davis, who added seven.

Three who mattered

Agusi: Queens point guard recovered from a scoreless first half and 0-for-3 beyond the arc to score 14 points on 3-of-4 on 3-pointers in the second.

Davis: J.C. Smith’s shooting guard helped keep the Golden Bulls in contention with 7-of-19 shooting, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range.

Lewis: The Queens forward nailed all five shots for 11 points.

Observations

▪  The 74 points was Queens’ fewest this season.

▪ Queens blocked six shots compared to J.C. Smith’s one.

▪ The Golden Bulls trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half before closing to 67-59 with 2:20 left.

Worth mentioning

▪ Queens has won five straight games in the series, which J.C. Smith leads 11-8.

▪ The Royals’ victory was the 301st for coach Bart Lundy, who earned No. 300 Friday against Livingstone.

▪ J.C. Smith lost its second straight game of the season after opening with three wins.

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This story was originally published November 18, 2017 at 7:09 PM with the headline "No. 2 Queens continues mastery of crosstown rival J.C. Smith in Tip-Off Classic finale."