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Phil Constantino (pxp)
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Having already locked up the outright South Atlantic Conference regular-season championship, the No. 9/9 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (25-3, 17-1 SAC) travels to Wingate University (16-10, 12-6 SAC) on Wednesday evening, seeking a sixth-straight win over its conference rival. Opening tipoff from Cuddy Arena in Wingate, North Carolina, is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Queens and Wingate will meet for the 37
th time, with the Royals holding a 22-14 all-time edge. Queens has won the last five meetings by an average of 20.2 points per game, including a 95-71 victory in the season's first encounter on Jan. 23 at the Levine Center. The Royals last lost to the Bulldogs, 86-79, on Feb. 8, 2017.
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Quick Facts
No. 9/9 Queens Royals (25-3, 17-1 SAC)
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Game Notes)
-Last time out,
Blake Morrow scored a season-high 21 points to pace five Royals in double figures, as Queens defeated Carson-Newman University, 102-88, on Saturday at Holt Fieldhouse to claim the outright SAC regular-season championship.
Shaun Willett followed with 19 points and eight rebounds, whileÂ
Lewis Diankulu scored 16 with eight boards.Â
Van Turner Jr. scored 14,Â
Kenny Dye added 13, andÂ
Daniel Carr scored eight points while grabbing eight rebounds.
-This past Saturday at Carson-Newman, Queens won its 17th conference game of the season, and in doing so, secured the SAC's outright regular-season title for the first time in program history. The championship is the second total regular-season crown claimed by the Royals in their sixth year in the League, as Queens split the title in 2016-2017 with Lincoln Memorial University. The conference championship is also the seventh overall regular-season conference crown in program history and the third-straight year in which Queens has claimed either a conference or regional title.
-Saturday's win gave the Royals their 25th victory of the season, marking the fourth-straight season in which Queens has won at least 25 games and the eighth time total in the program's history. This season is
Bart Lundy's seventh 25-win season as a head coach, all of which have come in his 11 years at Queens.
-Saturday's road win over Carson-Newman improved the Royals' road record to 11-0 and extended their road winning streak to 12 games, dating back to last season. The current road winning streak is second to Northwest Missouri State University for the longest such active streak in Division II and includes three wins over ranked teams. This season Queens has posted road wins over No. 23 Lenoir-Rhyne University, 76-69, on Nov. 28, and No. 24 Catawba College, 87-86, on Jan. 16.
-With 22 double-doubles, Willett is second in the NCAA (more than 1,200 institutions) in double-doubles this season. At the Division II level, Will Vorhees of Notre Dame College is second with 18 double-doubles, and in Division I, Davontae Cacok of the University of North Carolina Wilmington has 21. Kevin Dennis of Division III Morrisville State College leads with 23.
-With 333 rebounds in the season's first 28 games, Willett has already recorded the second-most rebounds in a single season in program history. He is two rebounds shy of tying Soce Faye who holds the single-season rebounding record with 335 (1997-98, 30 games). In his two years in Charlotte, Willett has totaled 509 rebounds.
-Through 28 games, Willett has scored 551 points, ranking him 10th all-time in a single season in program history. He is two points away from tying Yogi Leo who ranks ninth with 553 points during the 1995-1996 season (30 games).
-On Feb. 15, Willett was named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 50 Watch List, Small College Basketball announced. The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest season across NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA Divisions I and II, USCAA Divisions I and II and NCCAA Divisions I and II. The watch list, which began with 100 players on Jan. 15 and also featured
Daniel Carr, will be trimmed down to 25 players on March 15. Finalists will be announced on April 6 and the award winner will be announced on April 8.
-On Tuesday, Queens improved one spot to No. 9 in the NABC / Division II Rankings and held at No. 9 in the most recent edition of the D2SIDA Media Poll. The placement in the 13th official coaches' poll of the season marks the 58th consecutive week in which Queens has been featured in the poll dating back to Nov. 24, 2015, the first poll of the 2015-2016 season. The Royals have cracked the top-10 nationally in both polls during each of the last four seasons.
-Willett was named AstroTurf SAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week for games played Feb. 4-10 after averaging 21.5 points and 14 rebounds on 51.4-percent shooting in two winning efforts. The award was Willett's third Player of the Week honor this season and the fifth time this year that a Queens player claimed the award.
-Willett currently leads SAC in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game. He also leads the League in rebounding, and ranks third nationally, with 11.9 rebounds per game.
-Carr is seventh in the SAC in scoring (16.1 PPG), fifth in assists (4.5 APG), and eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (43.0%).
-Diankulu is the League's fourth-leading rebounder with 7.8 boards per game and ranks third in field goal percentage (58.7%).
-Turner is fourth in 3-point shooting (45.5%) and his 90 made 3-pointers ranks him in a tie for 11th nationally in 3-point field goals made this season.
-Morrow is fifth in the SAC in 3-point shooting (44.4%). As a team, Queens is shooting 50.9 percent (No. 10 NCAA, No. 1 SAC) and 41.0 percent from 3-point range (No. 9 NCAA, No. 1 SAC).
-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 353-170 (.675 win pct.) and a record at Queens of 257-83 (.756 win pct.). Lundy has led Queens to all three of its Elite Eight appearances.
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Wingate Bulldogs (16-10, 12-6 SAC)
-Wingate is 16-10 overall, 12-6 in conference play and currently tied for third place in the SAC standings with Catawba, one game ahead of Lenoir-Rhyne in fifth place. The top four teams in the conference standings at the end of the season will earn a home game in the first round of the SAC postseason tournament.
-The Bulldogs have won three-straight games, most recently defeating Newberry College, 110-91, on Wednesday, Feb. 20.
-The Bulldogs are led by Marco Haskins who averages 19.3 points (No. 3 SAC) and 7.8 rebounds per game (No. 3 SAC) and ranks third in the SAC in 3-point shooting percentage (46.8%). This year, Haskins has twice been named the SAC's Player of the Week, most recently receiving the award on Jan. 7.
-Quantra Taylor is the League's second-leading rebounder, averaging 8.4 rebounds per game.
-Jakob Dawkins is the reigning SAC Player of the Week, receiving the award after scoring 28 points in last Wednesday's win at Newberry.
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-Bulldogs head coach Brian Good is in his 11th year at Wingate after spending four seasons as the head coach at Queens (2004-2008). Good holds an overall coaching record of 314-358 (.467 win pct.) in 24 years and a record at Wingate of 191-134 (.588 win pct.).
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