Live Audio: Queens Sports Network
Phil Constantino (pxp)

Live Video: Pioneer Sports Network

Live Stats
 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Having won five consecutive games, and nine of the last 10, the 19^th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (10-2, 3-0 SAC), travels to Tusculum University (3-5, 0-2 SAC) on Sunday afternoon for a South Atlantic Conference matchup. Opening tipoff at Pioneer Arena in Greeneville, Tennessee, is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Sunday marks the 15th all-time meeting between the Royals and the Pioneers with Queens holding a 13-1 edge. The Royals won the most recent meeting, 92-57, on Jan. 28 of last season. Tusculum's only win in the series came on Feb. 27, 2016, when the Pioneers topped then 12th-ranked Queens, 96-89, in double overtime, in the final game of the regular season. The Royals have won the last four meetings in the series by an average of 19.8 points per game.
 
Quick Facts
No. 19/13 Queens Royals (10-2, 3-0 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Last time out, Shaun Willett, Kevion Blaylock, Chris Parks, and Jermaine Patterson each set career scoring highs as Queens defeated Johnson & Wales University, 121-76, on Wednesday at the Levine Center. Willett led Queens with 23 points, while Blaylock scored 16 points, Parks scored 13 and Patterson scored 12. The scoring total of 121 points is the most Queens has scored in a game since Feb. 13, 2016, when the Royals beat the Mars Hill University Lions, 122-93.

-Prior to the win over JWU, Queens completed a 2-0 week with wins over two reigning conference champions by an average of 24 points. On Monday, Dec.3, Queens beat reigning CIAA Tournament Champions, Virginia Union University, 92-72, on the road. The Royals followed the win with a 90-62 win over reigning SAC Champions Lincoln Memorial University on Saturday, Dec. 8.

-Daniel Carr was named AstroTurf SAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week for his performance, Dec. 3-Dec. 9. The award was the first SAC weekly honor in his career. Carr scored 20 points in Monday's win over VUU on 6-for-10 from the floor and a perfect seven of seven at the free throw line, while tying a career-high with eight assists and securing five rebounds. Against LMU, Carr scored 22 points, 15 from distance on five of seven 3-point shooting and a perfect 3-for-3 at the stripe. For the week, Carr averaged 21 points, 4.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor, 60 percent from the 3-point line and 100 percent from the free throw line.

-Queens was named the season's first NCAA Division II Team of the Week by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), for its performance Nov. 25-Dec. 1. The Royals finished that week 2-0, with a road win over then-No. 23 Lenoir-Rhyne University, 76-69, and a win over Anderson University, 79-77.

-Carr currently ranks in a tie for sixth in the SAC in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game, fourth in assists, with 5.3 assists per game, and sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (51.8%).

-Willett is also T-6th in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per. He leads the League in rebounding and ranks seventh nationally with 10.8 rebounds per game. Willett also leads the country with nine double-doubles so far this season. 

-Lewis Diankulu is the League's sixth-leading rebounder with 7.5 boards per game.

-Van Turner Jr. is T-9th in 3-point shooting (50.0%) and his 43 made 3-pointers ranks him atop the SAC and No. 4 nationally.

-As a team, Queens is shooting 52.6 percent (No. 8 NCAA, No. 1 SAC) and 45.0 percent from three (No. 4 NCAA, No. 1 SAC).

-Since allowing 87 points in each of the first two games of the season, the Royals have ramped it up defensively. Queens has held each of its last ten opponents to less than 80 points, four of its last ten to less than 70 points, and are allowing an average of 71.6 points per game in that stretch. The Royals are holding opponents to 41.4-percent shooting over the last ten games, having four times in that span held an opponent under 40-percent shooting. Just two games ago, Queens posted a season-best defensive performance allowing 62 points and 37.5-percent shooting versus LMU.

-For another week, Queens remained in the official coaches' poll, improving two spots to No. 19 in the most recent edition of the NABC/Division II Rankings released on Tuesday. The placement in the fourth official poll of the season marks the 49th consecutive week in which Queens has been featured in the national rankings dating back to the first poll of the 2015-2016 season on Nov. 24, 2015. The Royals opened the year at No. 7 in the coaches' poll and have cracked the top-10 nationally during each of the last four seasons. Additionally, Queens appeared at No. 13 nationally in the D2SIDA Media Poll released on Tuesday. The Royals are ranked second in the Southeast Region with a region record of 8-1.

-Head Coach Bart Lundy is in his sixth season since returning to Queens and his 11^th overall at the helm in Charlotte. In 17 years as a head coach in Division I and II, Lundy has posted an overall record of 338-170 (.665 win pct.) and a record at Queens of 242-83 (.745 win pct.). Lundy has led Queens to all three of its Elite Eight appearances.
 
Tusculum Pioneers (3-5, 0-2 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Tusculum has opened the year 3-5, 0-2 in SAC play after most recently losing at Catawba College, 83-79, on Saturday, Dec. 1.

-Due to a weather postponement, the Pioneers will have 15 days off prior to Sunday's game versus Queens. Sunday also marks just the second home game of the season for Tusculum, after opening with seven of its first eight games on the road.

-Tusculum is led by first-year head coach J.T. Burton, who brings to Greenville seven years of head coaching experience at the NAIA and NJCAA levels. Most recently Burton served as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Morehead State University last season.

-The Pioneers feature four scorers who average double figures, led by freshman guard Trenton Gibson (13 PPG).

-Tusculum's bright spot is its defense, which leads the SAC in scoring defense, allowing 70.3 points per game and limiting opponents 39.6-percent shooting (No. 3 SAC, No. 24 NCAA).

-The Pioneers are also atop the conference in blocked shots per game, with 4.6 on average (No. 29 NCAA). Sophomore Brandon Mitchell leads the SAC in blocked shots, averaging 2.2 per contest (No. 22 NCAA).