KINSTON, Ont. (February 20, 2010) – Ryan Hairsine of St. Mary's, Ont., had a season high 23 points to help the Queen's Gaels defeat the winless Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins 83-70 in their final regular season game in Kingston on Saturday night.

The Gaels (11-11) close their season in fourth place of the OUA East Division while RMC (0-22) finishes in last. On Wednesday, Queen's will open up the playoffs against the fifth place Ryerson Rams (10-12) in an OUA east quarterfinal game. The game is set for Feb. 24 at 8:00pm with tickets available by calling 613.533.2500.

Playing without team leader Mitch Leger (Kingston, Ont.) who was sat out to rest for the Gaels playoff game, Harisine led the Queen's in scoring while guard Baris Ondul of Istanbul, Turkey contributed 21 points. Tim Boyle of Belleville, Ont., led the Gaels in rebounds bringing down seven off the glass.

RMC's Simon Dakin of Comox, B.C., led the Paladins in both points and rebounds with a game high 26 points and 10 boards.

Queen's survived an early scare by the Paladins who kept lots of pressure on the Gaels in the first half, leaving the score 30-30 at the break. The third quarter saw, Queen's reverse their fortunes with Ondul and Harsine helping Queen's explode for 28 and an 18 point lead heading into the final frame

In the fourth, the Paladins fought to reduce the deficit, cutting Queen's lead to five points with minutes to play, but a clutch three-pointer by Oz Opacic of Burlington, Ont., put the game out of reach. The final score read 83-70.

NOTES: Queens sweeps the season series against the RMC Paladins with 112-49 win on Jan. 5 and tonight's victory... Queen's is on an 11-game winning streak over RMC with their last loss coming  on Dec. 1, 2004.  RMC won that contest 52-44… The Gaels have a 6-5 home record entering the playoffs.