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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The fifth-ranked Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team will face regionally-ranked Carson-Newman University on Saturday night in the South Atlantic Conference Semifinals. Opening tipoff from Timmons Arena on the campus of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The second-seeded Royals advanced to the conference semis for the fourth consecutive season, with a 73-61 victory over seventh-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne University on Wednesday. Carson-Newman, the three seed, beat sixth-seeded Newberry College, 102-82, to advance to the semifinals for the second straight year.

The Royals lead the all-time series with the Eagles, 9-3, and swept the season series, winning 92-81 on Dec. 13 at the Levine Center, and 82-66 on Feb. 10, on the road. Queens has won six in a row against Carson-Newman.

The winner will advance to Sunday's Championship Game and will face the winner of Saturday's first semifinal between top-seeded Lincoln Memorial University, and fourth-seeded Wingate University.

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

No. 5/5 Queens Royals (27-2, 18-2 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Four Royals received individual postseason accolades, the league announced on Thursday. Todd Withers was named a first-team all-conference selection, while Ike Agusi and Mike Davis were named to the league's second team, and Jalin Alexander received honorable mention recognition.

-Queens features one of the most efficient offenses in the country, with a shooting percentage of 50.3 percent, which is ranked No. 10 nationally and No. 3 in the SAC, and an average of 17.4 assists per game which is the 19^th-best mark in the nation, and the second-best in the league. The Royals score 83.7 points per game on average which is ranked No. 36 in the country and No. 4 in the conference.

-The Royals are ranked No. 2 in the SAC, and No. 35 in Division II, in scoring defense, allowing 68.7 points per game. Queens has held 24 of its 29 opponents under their season scoring average.

-Queens has held its opponent to 70 points or less 16 times in 29 games, and 60 points or less six times. Only four opponents all season have scored more than 80 points in a game against Queens (Carson-Newman, Catawba, Newberry, Lincoln Memorial).

-The Royals are holding opponents to 41.2-percent shooting (No. 22 NCAA, No. 2 SAC), and are out-rebounding opponents by 7.8 rebounds per game (No. 16 NCAA, No. 2 SAC).

-Queens is led by Withers who is averaging a team-high 13.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. Withers is 19^th in the SAC in scoring, third in rebounding, and fifth in blocked shots.

-On Feb. 15, 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 nine rebounds versus Lenoir-Rhyne on Jan. 21, Withers moved into fourth all-time at Queens in career rebounds with 701, passing DeWayne Ansley, who secured 700 rebounds in his career from 1991-1993 and 1994-1996. Withers currently has recorded 715 career boards and is 46 rebounds away from tying for third all-time (Carlos Andrade, 761, 1999-2003).

-With 18 points versus Lenoir-Rhyne last time out, Withers moved into a tie for ninth all-time at Queens in career scoring with 1,266 points (DeWayne Ansley). He is 79 points away from tying for eighth (1,345, Yogi Leo, 1993-1996).

-With 19 points versus Mars Hill on Jan. 17, Davis reached the 1,600-point mark for his career. He has currently scored 1,645 career points, the first 811 came in his first two collegiate seasons at Francis Marion University, with the following 834 coming since transferring to Queens prior to his junior year.

-As one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country, Queens features two of the league's top six in shooting percentage. Lewis Diankulu ranks fourth at 66.9-percent shooting, and Shaun Willett ranks fifth at 59.9 percent.

-The Royals feature a balanced attack with four of five starters averaging double figures (Withers 13.8 PPG, Davis 13.0 PPG, Agusi 11.7 PPG, and Alexander 11.0 PPG). Queens has featured seven different leading scorers in a game this season (Withers, Davis, Alexander, Diankulu, Agusi, Willett, Josh Van Weezep).

-Despite falling short of the SAC regular-season championship in the final game, the 2017-2018 team posted the best regular-season record in program history going 26-2 (.928 win pct.). The previous best mark was set by the 2002-2003 team that finished with a 29-4 overall record, and a 24-2 record in the regular season (.923 win pct.).

-The Royals only two losses this season came versus the current No. 1-ranked team Lincoln Memorial. In the first meeting on Jan. 13, then-No. 1 Queens fell 73-72, 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.

-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 is currently ranked No. 5 in the coaches' poll, its lowest ranking of the season, and No. 5 in the D2SIDA media poll. The Royals are also ranked No. 2 in the Southeast Region behind only LMU.

-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 44th 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 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.

Carson-Newman Eagles (23-6, 14-6 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Carson-Newman is led by Charles Clark, who finished the regular season tied for the league's lead in scoring at 21.4 points per game. The SAC Player of the Year from a season ago, was voted a first-team all-conference selection this season for the third time.

-This season Clark has been named the SAC Player of the Week on five occasions and has been named the Player of the Week a record 11 times in his career.

-Clark is on the verge of becoming the leading scorer in the history of the league. He has scored 2,318 points, and is six points away from tying Sean Barnette, who played at Wingate from 2005-2008 and scored 2,324 points. Clark has not been held to six points in a game since Feb. 25, 2015, when Lincoln Memorial held him to five points during his freshman year. Since the start of his sophomore season, Clark has been held to single digits twice, once by Queens as a junior.

-Most recently, Clark scored 29 points in Wednesday's quarterfinal win over Newberry. The performance was his 59^th career 20-point effort.

-Clark leads one of the most potent offenses in the country. The Eagles average 89.6 points per game (No. 9 NCAA, No. 2 SAC), 18.7 assists per game (No. 10 NCAA, No. 2 SAC), shoot 52 percent from the field (No. 3 NCAA, No. 2 SAC), and 41.4 percent from the 3-point line (No. 11 NCAA, No. 2 SAC).