Live Video: Queens Sports Network
Phil Constantino (pxp), Walker Mehl (analyst), Julia Allsbrook (sideline)

Live Stats: QueensAthletics.com
 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On Saturday at the Levine Center, the 16^th-ranked Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (12-3, 7-2 SAC) hosts Mars Hill University (7-8, 5-4 SAC) in a South Atlantic Conference matchup on Pride Day. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Queens and Mars Hill will meet for the 28th time, with Queens holding a 12-5 all-time edge. The Royals have won each of the last eight meetings, including the most recent encounter on Mar. 2, 2019, when Queens beat Mars Hill, 108-91, on the final day of the regular season.

General admission is $6 for adults, $4 for children ages 13-17, and free for seniors (60 and older) and children 12 and under. Queens students, faculty, and staff will also receive free admission with the presentation of their Queens ID card.
 

Quick Facts
No. 16 Queens Royals (12-3, 7-2 SAC)
(Game Notes)

-Last time out, in a matchup of nationally-ranked teams, 16th-ranked Queens jumped out to a 16-point halftime lead and cruised to a 90-80 victory over 25th-ranked Catawba College on Wednesday night at the Levine Center. Daniel Carr led the Royals with 23 points as Queens earned its 15th consecutive victory in the series.

-So far this season, Queens has collected notable wins over the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (No. 8) and Lees-McRae College (No. 6), two regionally-ranked teams. The Royals have also beaten Emmanuel College and Lenoir-Rhyne University, two 2019 NCAA Tournament participants.

-Queens is ranked No. 16 nationally in the latest edition of the D2SIDA Media Poll, released on Tuesday, Jan. 14. The Royals remain ranked in at least one of the two major national polls every week since Nov. 2016, a streak that spans more than three full seasons.

-The two-time reigning regional champions improved one spot to No. 2 in the most recent edition of the Southeast Region Poll, D2SIDA announced on Monday, Jan. 13. Queens earned 53 points, placing just behind conference rival Lincoln Memorial University, who received all six first-place votes and earned 60 points. The Royals were ranked No. 1 in the region in the preseason.

-On Tuesday, Dec. 31, the Royals fell out of the NABC / Division II Rankings for the first time this season, ending the program's streak of 65 consecutive weeks in the national coaches' poll. The streak, which began on Nov. 24, 2015, the first poll of the 2015-2016 season, lasted 1,498 days (4 years, 1 month and 7 days).  

-A loss to Lincoln Memorial on Dec. 7, 73-64, snapped a 15-game road winning streak for Queens which was the longest active road winning streak in all levels of NCAA basketball. Queens previously last lost a road game on Feb. 24, 2018, at then-No. 1-ranked Lincoln Memorial, 80-65. The Royals finished last season 12-0 in road games and opened 2019-2020 with a 2-0 road record before losing. The streak lasted 651 days.

-Over the previous three seasons, the Royals have won 93 games, the fourth most of any program at all NCAA levels during that span (Gonzaga 103, Northwest Missouri State 100, Villanova 94).

-The Royals have won 30 games or more in each of the last three seasons and are one of just two programs in all levels of NCAA basketball who have accomplished the feat (Gonzaga).
 

Mars Hill Lions (7-8, 5-4 SAC)

-Lions most recently lost at No. 3/3 Lincoln Memorial University, 100-79, on Saturday, and are currently in a three-way tie for fourth place in the League standings with Tusculum University and Newberry College.

-Mars Hill is led by Ja'Shawn Brooks, who ranks third in the League with a scoring average of 21.0 points per game. Last season, Brooks finished as the League's leading scorer (20.0 PPG) en route to earning second-team all-conference honors.

-Head Coach Vic Finora is in his fourth season in-charge. He holds an overall record of 26-72 (.265 win pct.).

-After finishing last season 9-19 overall, and as a result earning a 10th-place selection in the conference's preseason poll, this year's team is off to the best start of Finora's four-year tenure.