ROCK HILL, S.C. – The neatly-dubbed Battle of I-77 – for those of you outside the region, it is so named because Queens is located off Exit 6A/B (Woodlawn) of the highway in North Carolina, while Winthrop is located off Exit 82 A/B/C (US 21/Cherry Road) of the roadway in the Palmetto State – had its latest installment as the sun shined Monday morning. The Royals got their first win over the Eagles, claiming a 103-98 decision.
Now that you know what happened, for the first time in 2026-27, let’s go…Inside the Numbers!
- Most eyes – bleary or otherwise – were focused on Queens’ two viral self-marketing features. Grant Leonard broke out another of his now-trademark sweaters, the contents of which he (somewhat) spoiled to Jaden and me. The sweater said, “Queens University of Charlotte, 2026 ASUN Champions. Cut the net. Claim the crown. First dance.”
Additionally, star point guard Jordan Watford brought in Buddy the Street Dog, whose “life” and story we have chronicled here at great length. We’ll talk more about Watford’s day later in this piece. In what I think is a first for me in 15 years of doing this, mediator and retired Winthrop sports information legend Jack Frost jumped in to ask Jordan about Buddy’s life story.
- Queens freshman Caleb Jones hit what was arguably the shot of the day late in the game – and shot clock – to help stem a Winthrop run and provide the final push the Royals needed. Leonard has spoken highly of Jones throughout the summer, and today, he showed why that’s the case.
“That’s probably why he’s in (the press conference),” Leonard said when I asked him if there was a bigger shot in the game. “Caleb led (Overtime Elite) in scoring. He can really score the ball. He has no fear. Sometimes, we’ve got to get him to dial it back a little. He’s a freshman and he’s learning, but he’s really talented. I’m glad he’s with us. He gives us another dimension off the bench.”
- If you count exhibitions – and for today’s purposes, we will – Queens has two very similar results against Big South foes. The Royals knocked off Charleston Southern, 110-94, in an exhibition at the Buc Dome. Today, they claimed the aforementioned 103-98 decision. I’m not saying the ASUN is a bad fit for Queens, but…well, I’ll just let Winthrop coach Mark Prosser take it from here.
“Give them a ton of credit,” Prosser said. “It’s one of those games that you start the season with against a very good opponent who I think would be a very good Big South opponent that was picked to win their league. I think they have the preseason Player of the Year (Watford). (They have) experience all the way around – experience at the five (position) coming back, experience on the perimeter coming back, so they did what they were supposed to do.”
- We often look at the hustle stats in this space, and it’s probably good to visit a couple of those stats right now. Queens won the paint, 50-40, and made more free throws than Winthrop attempted. Prosser noted that the Eagles have led the nation in free throw attempts over the last three years, but did not today (the Eagles tried just 11, hitting six). Leonard loved what he saw on both counts when I asked him about the results.
“We shot more than double their free throws and we shot a better percentage from the field. We (also) won the turnover battle,” Leonard said. “All-in-all for us, we controlled the paint. That’s what Winthrop usually does. That was the goal of this team – we’re going to put a lot of pressure on the rim offensively and we’re going to protect our paint. I hope we don’t always give up 16-for-34 from three, but I thought a lot of them were heavily contested. There were a couple clean ones, but a lot of them were way off the line … If we’re going to lose, someone’s going to have to do that to us and we’re going to protect our paint. I was proud, because Winthrop is a program that is deeply invested in winning the paint, and they did not win it today.”
- Senior transfer Kyle Morgan provided a solid spark off the bench for the Eagles. The former UT-Tyler sharpshooter knocked down 5-of-11 from the deck (5-of-10 from three) to give the Eagles 16 of their 18 bench points.
“I feel like Kyle just comes in and does what he’s supposed to do,” guard Keshawn Fisher said after the game. “It’s always going to work when you do what you’re supposed to do, so I think he did the right thing coming off the bench.”
“He finished with 16, and he shot 5-for-10 from three,” guard Spence Sims added. “He made shots. We know he can do that, so he’s big off the bench.”
- Fisher turned in a career-best by far Monday morning, booking 32 on 12-for-15 from the floor to more than double his prior career-high of 15 for Detroit Mercy at Youngstown State last season. Winthrop hit 16 threes in a game exactly once last year, tossing in 18-of-35 against Gardner-Webb.
- 6-foot-9 freshman Nick McLean scored 14 on 6-of-11 shooting, including the best plus-minus rating of any Royal at plus-13. Leonard noted the X-factor McLean offers his club.
“He reminds me of a Queens great, (former Detroit Piston) Todd Withers, who I’m very fond of,” Leonard said. “Nick’s got a huge upside and he’s learning how to churn his motor consistently, but his length, athleticism, and skill are probably above our level. Nick is such a willing learner. He wants to get better. He’s really hard on himself. We’re trying to help him not be so hard on himself.”
- And then, finally, there was Watford. The sophomore from nearby Lancaster, S.C., scored 26, dished eight dimes, and snatched seven caroms. I asked Jordan about how much of the work he and Leonard talked about his needing after last season showed on the court Monday morning.
“I feel like a lot of it showed, especially from a point guard point of view,” Watford said. “I feel like I saw a lot of good reads. Obviously, I still had three turnovers, but (it was) just (about) making simple plays and the right reads. That’s something G harps on a lot in practice and with me. It’s just about making the game simpler from a point guard standpoint.”
“The best part is that he knows the three turnovers already, and he’s mad at himself for a couple of them,” Leonard added. We’ll work through it, but yeah, it’s a huge deal when you have a point guard who can make plays, but doesn’t make plays for the other team. Jordan has got a chance to be a special player – not just this season, but he’s got a bright future ahead of himself. I’m really proud of his growth. I probably coach Jordan harder than any other player that we’ve had at Queens, and when you can coach your best player like that, the rest of the team sees it, and I think that’s a sign of a good culture.”
To close us out, we have the Hustle Stats:
Points off turnovers: Queens 17, Winthrop 13
Points in the paint: Queens 50, Winthrop 40
Second-chance: Queens 14, Winthrop 10
Fast breaks: Queens 29, Winthrop 12
Bench: Queens 33, Winthrop 18
QUEENS 103, WINTHROP 98
WINTHROP (0-1)
Fisher 12-15 3-4 32, Natsvlishvili 7-15 2-3 16, Smith 2-5 0-0 4, Sims 7-14 0-0 19, Hendawy 4-9 0-2 9, Sarai 1-1 0-0 2, Morgan 5-11 1-2 16, Cwik 0-0 0-0 0, Hamilton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-72 6-11 98.
QUEENS (1-0)
Parker 2-6 1-2 5, Watford 10-15 6-10 26, Mann 6-11 4-4 19, Henry 6-9 2-5 15, Ballard 1-4 2-2 5, Bicer 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 6-7 0-0 15, McLean 6-11 0-0 14, Pack 0-4 2-2 2, Kearse 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 38-68 17-26 103.
Halftime: Queens 55-38. 3-Point goals: Winthrop 16-34 (Fisher 5-8, Smith 0-1, Sims 5-12, Hendawy 1-2, Morgan 5-10, Evans 0-1), Queens 10-27 (Watford 0-1, Mann 3-6, Henry 1-2, Ballard 1-4, Jones 3-3, McLean 2-7, Pack 0-4). Fouled out: NA. Rebounds: Winthrop 38 (Natsvlishvili 9), Queens 34 (Watford 7). Total fouls: Winthrop 18, Queens 13. Technicals: NA.
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