LIVE STATS: https://gomason.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
 
LIVE VIDEO: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=a9c92594-4871-47a1-bee4-6e8dedf7f037
 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team continues play in the D.C. Paradise Jam in Washington, D.C. against Howard University. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
 
Friday marks the first all-time meeting between the two schools. NCAA Division I institutions Belmont University, and George Mason University round out the four-team field for the tournament that is typically played the week of Thanksgiving each year in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
 
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the tournament moved to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Nov. 26-28. All members of the tournament - players and staff - will have to follow comprehensive COVID-19 protocols created by local DC health officials.
 
Quick Facts
 
Queens Royals (0-1)
(Game Notes)
 
-The Royals surpassed the 20-win mark last season for the fifth straight year. The Royals have a total of 607 victories in program history since it's inception in 1989-90.
 
-The Royals were ranked No. 10 overall in both the D2SIDA Media Poll and the NABC Preseason Coaches Poll . Queens finished the 2019-20 season ranked No. 15 in the final edition of the D2SIDA Media Poll and held a No. 23 ranking in the NABC Coaches Poll.
 
- Over the past five seasons, the Royals have won 142 games and have won at least 30 games in three of the last four years.
 
-The two-time reigning regional champions were picked to finish second in the South Atlantic Conference's Preseason Poll, as voted on by the League's coaches. The Royals received one of 13 first-place votes and 144 total votes to place second behind preseason favorite Lincoln Memorial University.
 
-Junior Kenny Dye and redshirt-sophomore Jamari Smith were each named to the SAC's Preseason All-Conference Team, as voted on by the League's coaches.
 
-Dye opened the 2020-21 season with 18 points, eight rebounds and five steals in a 66-65 loss to George Mason in the season opener. Freshman Justin Thomas followed with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three steals in his collegiate debut.
 
-Head Coach Bart Lundy is in his 13^th season at Queens and 19^th season overall as a collegiate head coach. Lundy boasts a 383-180 (.680) career record and is Queens' all-time winningest coach with a 287-93 (.755) mark.
 
Howard Bison (0-1) 
(Game Notes) 
 
- The Bison roster is composed of only four players with playing experience returning from last year's team while adding seven freshmen and four transfers including five-star recruit Makur Maker. Maker made headlines this past summer as the first-ever five-star recruit to commit to an HBCU.
 
-Kyle Foster (Hampton, Va.), Wayne Bristol, Jr. (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and Khalil Robinson (Columbia, S.C.) make up the core of returning players.
 
-Foster, a 6-5 wing player, could be the key to helping the team in gaining chemistry. Known primarily as a shooter with unlimited range, Foster has primarily been a designated shooter. He suffered an injury that kept him out of the lineup through the middle of last season, but he recovered and went on to play his best basketball late in the season, including the two games in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament.
 
-Robinson, a 5-11 sophomore, is another key returning player, having started at point guard and was en route to the all-freshman team before an injury sidelined him. He led the team in total assists (93) and will be expected to pick up where he was prior to the season-ending injury.
 
-Bristol, Jr. emerged as the top freshman in the MEAC last season, averaging 12.6 points per game. The 6-5 wing guard's added experience in the system should be a plus.
 
-Kenneth Blakeney is in his second season with Howard after compiling a 4-29 overall record in his debut season with the Bison in 2019-20. Prior to his hire at Howard, Blakeney coached at seven Division I universities over a 12-year span.