CHARLOTTE, N.C. - UWG men's basketball took it to the Royals in the first period, going into halftime tied up at 28 a piece. However, an explosive second half by the hosts in which they outscored the Wolves 59-40, carried Queens to an 87-68 conference victory. 

West Georgia (4-19, 2-8 ASUN) battled with the Royals (14-9, 7-3 ASUN) on the road today, holding a lead for a quarter of the game with one of the league's top teams, but excellent second half shooting by Queens proved to be too much firepower for the Wolves. The hosts' impressive 74 percent field goal shooting and 58 percent three-point percentage fueled their explosive 59-point second half surge.

For the 14th time this season, Shelton Williams-Dryden led the Wolves with 23 points, shooting 47 percent from the field and hitting his lone three-pointer. Williams-Dryden was followed by Kyric Davis and Tauris Watson both with 10.

The Royals had five players finish in double figures with Leo Colimerio leading the charge with 19 points, followed by Chris Ashby and Jaxon Pollard both with 13, Nasir Mann with 12 and Kalib Mathews with 10.

The two teams opened today's ASUN action struggling to find their stroke from the field, with both squads hovering around 30 percent at the first media timeout.

Out of the break, the Wolves started to attack from inside the arc with Tauris Watson leading the charge with six points.

The Wolves effectively utilized layups in the first, scoring ten from close range to establish a 17-15 lead at the midway point.

The two teams remained locked in a tight battle throughout the rest of the half, with neither side able to pull away. The period ended tied at 28-28.

Through the first, Shelton Williams-Dryden posted a UWG-high nine points, followed by Tauris Watson with eight. Leo Colimero led the Royals with 10 points. The Royals held a slight first half shooting advantage, hitting 42 percent from the field and 27 from three, to West Georgia's 41 percent from the field and 14 percent from three.

The Wolves continued to attack from close range in the second, scoring six of its opening ten period points from inside the paint. 

Seven minutes into the half, the hosts held a tight 42-40 advantage, but quickly exploded on a scoring run to extend their lead to double digits for the first time today. 

Back-to-back threes by Queens' senior forward Jaxon Pollard pushed this Royals run to 16-2, giving the hosts 58-42 lead with under ten minutes to go. 

The Wolves continued to battle, but Queens 74 percent second half shooting from the field combined with seven three-pointers pushed the Royals out of West Georgia's reach.

UWG ultimately fell 87-68 on the road to Queens.

Today's 23-point performance by Shelton Williams-Dryden marks the ninth time this season the junior forward scored 20 or more. Kyric Davis broke into double digits for the sixth straight game, bringing his season total to ten. 

As mentioned, the key difference in today's road game was the unbalanced second half shooting. The Wolves went from shooting almost even with the Royals in the first period, to being outshot 60 to 43 percent from the field by the final whistle.  

Following the game, head coach Dave Moore said, "We were scrapping and battling in the first half. We limited them at the three-point line. We were in the game, a tied ball game because we were scraping and battling. We were competing on the backboard and getting some transition opportunities. In the second half, their shot making was really the difference. We couldn't keep them out of the paint, and that gave them a lot of easy baskets in the second half. When you get a bunch of easy baskets, you usually are going to pull away. We didn't have enough horsepower to respond to their runs in the second half, but I am proud of the effort. The guys played hard."

UWG men's basketball returns to the Coliseum to rematch Lipscomb University next Wednesday at 7 p.m. 

The last time the team played in Carrollton (Jan. 25), West Georgia secured its first ASUN victory at home. After the historic win over North Florida, coach Moore reminded fans of the importance of a home atmosphere, stating, "We need our community to support us. Big time Division I basketball is here in Carrollton. We are going to continue to get better game after game and year after year, and we need their support. We need people coming out and supporting us. We can't be successful without their help."