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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The 25th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (7-2, 2-0 SAC) travels to Virginia Union University (3-3, 0-0 CIAA), the reigning Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Champions, on Monday night for a non-conference matchup. The Royals and the Panthers will meet for just the second time ever and the first time in the regular season. The only previous meeting came on March 8, 1996, when then second-seeded Queens lost to top-seeded Virginia Union, 81-58, in the South Atlantic Regional Final of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championships.

Opening tipoff from Barco-Stevens Hall in Richmond, Virginia, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday is the first of two meetings this season, as Virginia Union will return the trip to Charlotte on Jan. 3.
 
Quick Facts
No. 25/23 Queens Royals (7-2, 2-0 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Last time out, Queens took a 14-point lead with 9:26 to play and held off a late rally to defeat Anderson University, 79-77, on Saturday at the Levine Center, picking up its sixth win in its last seven games. Daniel Carr led Queens with 19 points, while Shaun Willett recorded his seventh double-double in nine games with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Lewis Diankulu scored 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Kevion Blaylock secured a career-high eight rebounds.

-Several Royals rank near the top of the League's statistical categories one month into the season. Carr currently ranks sixth in the SAC in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game, while Willett is 10th, averaging 16.6 points per, and leads the League in rebounding, with 10.8 rebounds per game. Diankulu is the League's seventh-leading rebounder with 7.2 boards per game. Turner is seventh in 3-point shooting (51.6%), while Carr is eighth (50.0%).

-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 seven opponents to less than 80 points, three of its last seven to less than 70 points, and are allowing an average of 73.3 points per game in that stretch. The Royals are holding opponents to 42.4-percent shooting over the last seven games, having twice in that span held an opponent under 40-percent shooting.

-For another week, Queens remained in the official coaches' poll with a No. 25 national ranking in the most recent edition of the NABC/Division II Rankings released on Tuesday. The placement in the second official poll of the season marked the 47th 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. 23 nationally in the D2SIDA Media Poll released on Tuesday. The Royals are tied for third in the Southeast Region with a region record of 4-1 while receiving one first-place vote.

-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 335-170 (.663 win pct.) and a record at Queens of 239-83 (.742 win pct.). Lundy has led Queens to all three of its Elite Eight appearances.
 
Virginia Union Panthers (3-3, 0-0 CIAA)

-The Panthers are 3-3 overall, entering Monday night off of a win versus Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, 93-68, on Tuesday night. Freshman guard Demarius Pitts led five in double figures with 21 points.

-Pitts averages a team-high 17.7 points per game, has scored in double figures in all six games of his collegiate career and has scored 20 points or more three times. Pitts was named Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Rookie of the Week for his performance in week two of the season.

-William Jenkins is second on the team averaging 14 points and a team-best 8.2 rebounds per game. Jenkins has posted double-doubles in each of the last two games.

-Virginia Union claimed last year's CIAA Tournament Championship with an 82-52 win over Johnson C. Smith University at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. VUU finished with an 18-15 overall record after losing to top-seeded Virginia State University, 81-76, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers were picked third in the CIAA Preseason Poll.

-In the program's history, Virginia Union has claimed 23 CIAA Championships, made seven Elite Eight appearances and won three National Championships, last winning the title in 2005.