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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 7/6 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (28-3, 19-1 SAC) will meet Lenoir-Rhyne University (20-9, 12-8 SAC) on Saturday evening in the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference Pilot Flying J Men's Basketball Championships. Opening tipoff from Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C. is scheduled for 5 p.m.

The Royals earned the No. 1 seed in the eight-team tournament after winning the SAC Regular Season Championship by five games. Queens beat eighth-seeded Carson-Newman University on Wednesday, 84-75, to advance. The winner of Saturday's matchup will meet the winner of No. 2 Catawba College and No. 6 Wingate University on Sunday, March 10, in the conference championship game.

Saturday marks the 21st meeting between the two schools, with the Royals holding a 14-6 all-time edge. Queens and LR split the regular-season series, with the road team winning each time. On Nov. 28, Queens beat then-No. 23 Lenoir-Rhyne, 76-69, before the Bears returned the favor and handed the Royals their only loss of conference play, 92-79, on Jan. 30.
 
 
Quick Facts
No. 7/6 Queens Royals (28-3, 19-1 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Last time out, Shaun Willett recorded his NCAA-leading 25th double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, as top-seeded Queens downed eighth-seeded Carson-Newman, 84-75, in the quarterfinals of the SAC Tournament on Wednesday night at the Levine Center. Daniel Carr followed with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting, Blake Morrow scored 13, and Jermaine Patterson added 10 points, as the Royals picked up their ninth-straight win.

-For the third consecutive week, Queens was ranked No. 1 in the NCAA's official Southeast Region Rankings, released on Wednesday, Mar. 6. The NCAA Regional Rankings will determine seeding in the NCAA Tournament which begins on Mar. 16. The top team in each of the eight regions nationwide will earn the right to host their respective regional tournament. The Royals currently hold an in-region record of 26-2. Augusta University is second with a record of 24-4 and the University of South Carolina Aiken is ranked third with a 25-4 mark.

-On Saturday, Feb. 23, at Carson-Newman, Queens won its 17th conference game of the season, and in doing so, secured the outright SAC Regular Season Championship for the first time in program history. The championship is the second total regular-season crown claimed by the Royals in their six-year tenure 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.

-On Tuesday, Queens improved two spots to No. 7 in the NABC / Division II Rankings and improved three spots to No. 6 in the most recent edition of the D2SIDA Media Poll. The placement in the 14th official coaches' poll of the season marks the 59th 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 South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year, and head coach Bart Lundy was named SAC Coach of the Year, the League announced on Thursday. In addition, five Royals received all-conference accolades. Along with Willett, Carr was named a first-team all-conference selection, Lewis Diankulu was named to the League's second team, Van Turner Jr. was named an honorable mention all-conference honoree, and Kenny Dye was named to the League's all-freshman team.

-On Feb. 27 at Wingate, Willett passed Soce Faye (335, 1997-1998, 30 games) to take hold of the program's single-season rebounding record. Through 31 games this season, Willet has totaled 371 rebounds, which also stands as a South Atlantic Conference single-season record. In his two-year career, Willett has 547 rebounds, ranking his just outside the top 10 all-time in Queens history.

-With 25 double-doubles, Willett leads 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 20 double-doubles. In Division I, Davontae Cacok of the University of North Carolina Wilmington has 22, and in Division III, Kevin Dennis of Morrisville State College has 24.

-In last Saturday's regular-season finale, Willett passed Glen Harris (586, 1998-1999, 34 games) for fourth place on the Queens single-season scoring list. Willet has currently scored 610 points this season and is 2 points shy of tying Spencer Ross (612, 2003-2004, 29 games) for third place.

-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.

-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 finished as the regular season as the SAC's second-leading scorer, with an average of 19.6 points per game, and the League's leading rebounder, averaging 12.0 rebounds per game. He currently ranks third nationally in rebounds per game and leads Division II in total rebounds (371).

-Carr finished 10th in the SAC in scoring (15.6 PPG), fourth in assists (4.9 APG), and seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (43.1%).

-Diankulu finished as the League's fourth-leading rebounder with 7.6 boards per game and second in field goal percentage (58.6%).

-Turner ranked fourth in 3-point shooting (46.2%). His current total of 106 made 3-pointers ranks him fifth nationally in 3-point field goals made this season.

-Morrow was the SAC's sixth-best 3-point shooter (44.2%).

-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 356-170 (.677 win pct.) and a record at Queens of 260-83 (.758 win pct.). Lundy has led Queens to all three of its Elite Eight appearances.
 

Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (20-9, 12-8 SAC)

-The Bears enter Saturday's game off of a win over fourth-seeded Tusculum University, 70-58, on the road on Wednesday. Cory Thomas led the team with 24 points while Djibrill Diallo followed with 10.

-Wednesday's win over Tusculum gave Lenoir-Rhyne just its second 20-win season in the last 11 years.

-Saturday's appearance in the SAC semifinals marks the Bears' first trip to the semis since 2009.

-LR is led by the backcourt duo of Diallo (15.8 PPG) and Thomas (15.5 PPG). On Thursday, Diallo was named a second-team all-conference selection while Thomas received honorable mention accolades from the League. Both players were previously named SAC Player of the Week earlier this season.

-At the end of the regular season, Darius Simmons was the League's statistical champion in 3-point field goal percentage (59.3%). Simmons was named SAC Player of the Week on Feb. 4 after averaging 13.5 points off the bench on 9-for-12 shooting and 7-for-8 from 3-point range in two LR wins.

-As a team, LR averages 82.1 points per game (No. 5 SAC) and shoots 47.3 percent from the field (No. 4 SAC). The Bears lead the Conference in assists per game, averaging 16.5.

-On the defensive end, the Bears are holding opponents to 75.6 points per game (No. 4 SAC).

-Head Coach Everick Sullivan is in his third year as LR head coach. A former University of Louisville standout, Sullivan holds an overall coaching record of 41-42 (.494 win pct.).