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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The second-ranked Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team travels to Lenoir-Rhyne University on Wednesday night to open the final week of the regular season.  Opening tipoff from Shuford Gymnasium is scheduled for 8 p.m.

The Royals lead the all-time series with the Bears, 11-5, and won the first meeting this season 70-63, on Jan. 18, at the Levine Center. Ike Agusi recorded a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Todd Withers scored 17 points and Mike Davis scored 13.

Live play-by-play coverage will be available on the Queens Sports Network with Phil Constantino.
 
Quick Facts

No. 2/3 Queens Royals (25-1, 17-1 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Queens most recently defeated Mars Hill University on Wednesday night, 103-95, to earn its ninth consecutive win. Davis led five Royals in double figures with 19 points. Jalin Alexander scored 18 to reach double figures for the fifth straight game. Shaun Willett added 10 points to reach double figures for the fourth straight game.

-The Royals have found a new offensive stride during the winning streak, averaging 90 points per game in the last nine contests. Queens averaged 74.3 points per game in its previous three outings (Jan. 6-Jan. 13), a stretch which included the season's only loss. On the season the Royals average 85.2 points per game.

-The Royals are also moving the ball more efficiently during the winning streak. Queens is averaging 20 team assists per game in the last nine contests, after previously averaging 15 per game from Jan. 6-Jan. 13. Queens has set a new season-high for assists in a game in two of its last four outings (26, Feb. 7 at Wingate; 27 Feb. 14 versus Newberry), and has totaled more than 20 assists in each of the last four games.

-Since losing on Jan. 13, Queens has not shot less than 47.6 percent from the floor in a game and is shooting 51.9 percent in that span (292-562), including a season-best 61-percent performance versus Coker College on Jan. 31 (36-59). From Jan. 6-Jan.13, Queens shot 47.7 percent, which included a season-worst offensive performance of 39.4-percent (26-66) versus Lincoln Memorial University on Jan. 13. On the season Queens is shooting 50.6 percent from the floor which ranks No. 8 nationally.

-The Royals are ranked No. 2 in the SAC in scoring defense, allowing 69.1 points per game. Queens has held 21 of its 26 opponents under their season scoring average.

-Queens has held its opponent to 70 points or less 14 times in 26 games. Only three opponents all season have scored more than 80 points in a game against Queens (Carson-Newman, Catawba, and Newberry). Queens has held opponents to 60 points or less four times.

-The Royals are holding opponents to 41.1-percent shooting (No. 19 NCAA, No. 2 SAC), and are out-rebounding opponents by 8.3 rebounds per game (No. 15 NCAA, No. 2 SAC).

-Queens is led by Withers who is averaging a team-high 13.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. Withers is 19^th in the SAC in scoring, third in rebounding, and fourth in blocked shots.

-On Thursday, Withers was named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 50 Watch List. The Bevo Francis Award is presented annually to the player who had the finest overall season in Small College Basketball (NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA, USCAA, and NCCAA).

-With five rebounds versus Mars Hill, Withers moved into fifth all-time at Queens in career rebounds with 692, passing Yogi Leo who compiled 691 from 1993-1996. Withers is currently eight rebounds away from tying for fourth all-time (700, DeWayne ANSLEY, 1991-'93, '94-'96.

-Withers has scored 1,228 career points, which ranks 11^th all-time at Queens. He is 12 points away from tying for 10th on the scoring list (1,240 points, Adrien Pritchard '96-'99).

-With 19 points last time out versus Mars Hill, Davis reached the 1,600-point mark for his career. He has currently scored 1,610 career points, the first 811 came in his first two collegiate seasons at Francis Marion University, with the following 799 coming since transferring to Queens prior to his junior year.

-The Royals feature a balanced attack with four of five starters averaging double figures (Withers 13.9 PPG, Davis 13.2 PPG, Agusi 11.4 PPG, and Alexander 11.4 PPG). Queens has featured seven different leading scorers in a game this season (Withers, Davis, Alexander, Agusi, Willett, Josh Van Weezep, Lewis Diankulu).

-The Royals only loss of the season came versus the current No. 1-ranked team, Lincoln Memorial, 73-72, on Jan. 13, in front of a crowd of nearly 1,400 fans at the Levine Center. The Royals squandered a 14-point first half lead, as the loss put an end to a 16-game winning streak that tied program records for both winning streak, and best start to a season.

-Queens currently holds second place in the SAC standings, one game back of Lincoln Memorial (25-1, 18-0 SAC), and four games ahead of Carson-Newman University in third place (21-5, 13-5 SAC).

-On Jan. 9, Queens reached No. 1 in the NABC/Division II National Rankings for the first time in program history and received 13 of a possible 16 first-place votes. Queens currently ranks No. 2 in the coaches' poll and No. 3 in the D2SIDA media poll for the fourth consecutive week. The Royals are also ranked No. 2 in the Southeast Region behind only LMU.

-With LMU No. 1, and Queens No. 2, two teams from the same conference make up the top-two teams in the coaches' poll for the first time since Feb. 23, 2016, when Wheeling Jesuit University and West Liberty University out of the Mountain East Conference ranked No. 1 and 2 respectively. The Royals and Railsplitters will meet again on Feb. 24, in the final game of the regular season, in Harrogate, Tennessee.

-Queens was the first ever Charlotte-area men's college basketball program to receive a No. 1 national ranking in its classification.

-Queens is ranked in the coaches' poll for the 43rd consecutive week, a streak which began on Nov. 24, 2015, with the first poll of the 2015-2016 season. Queens has cracked the top 10 of the rankings during each of the previous two seasons.

-With a win over Anderson University on Jan. 27, Queens won its 20^th game of the season, giving the Royals a 20 win campaign for the third consecutive year, and the 14^th time in the program's 30-year history. For Bart Lundy, 2017-2018 is his seventh 20-win season as a collegiate head coach in 16 years, and his sixth in 10 years at Queens.

-Over the last three seasons, Queens has opened a combined 44-0 before losing, opening the 2015-2016 season 12-0, and opening the 2016-2017 season 16-0, prior to this season's 16-0 start.

-Queens is the only program in the nation, in all levels of NCAA competition, to have started each of the last three seasons 10-0 or better (More than 1,200 schools).

-With a victory over Tarleton State University on Dec. 30, Queens completed its non-conference schedule unbeaten for the third consecutive season. The Royals last non-conference loss came versus Livingstone, 73-71, on Dec. 3, 2014. Queens has won 24 straight non-conference games including the postseason.
 
Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (11-14, 9-10 SAC)

-Wednesday night is the final game of the regular season for Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears are currently in fifth place in the conference standings having already clinched a spot in the top eight to make the SAC postseason tournament. LR is currently 1.5 games back of Wingate (10-8) in fourth place and has a .5 game lead on Coker (8-10) in sixth. The top four in the conference standings at the end of the regular season host a quarterfinal game in the postseason tournament.

-The Bears most recently defeated Tusculum College, 82-79, on Saturday. Djibril Diallo led with 22 points and seven rebounds on 10-of-17 shooting. Filip Leskovar scored 19 points off of the bench.

-LR is a significantly better team at home than on the road. The Bears are 8-4 at Shuford Gymnasium this season, but 3-9 in road games.

-The Bears tend to play a slower pace offensively, averaging 72.9 points per game (No. 10 SAC, No. 213 NCAA) and 59.2 field goal attempts per (No. 10 SAC).

-LR is led by Diallo in scoring with 15.4 points per game (No. 8 SAC). Bertrand Awana is the team's leading rebounder with 6.8 rebounds per game (No. 6 SAC).

-Second-year head coach Everick Sullivan played collegiately at the University of Louisville where he played in three NCAA tournaments. He ranks in the top 15 in four separate statistical categories in the program's history (scoring, assists, 3-point percentage, dunks).