CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 11/13 Queens University of Charlotte (12-2, 8-2 SAC) men's basketball team returns to Curry Arena on Wednesday night when they welcome conference foe, Anderson, at 7:30 p.m. The Royals enter Wednesday having won five straight, their second longest of the season after winning eight-straight games to start the season. Following Wednesday night's contest, Queens will travel for a pair of road games beginning at UVA-Wise on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

Wednesday night marks the 47th meeting between the Royals and Trojans with Queens owning a 36-10 advantage all time.  The conference foes matched up earlier this season on Nov. 23 with the Royals surging from behind and winning 86-79. Five Royals reached double figure scoring and Kenny Dye led the charge with a team-high 19 points, four assists, and four steals. After shooting 25-percent on four attempts from the free throw line in the first half, the Royals executed in the second half shooting 76-percent on 21 attempts. Queens' relentless defense forced 20 Trojan turnovers and they capitalized with 25 points. In the series, Queens is an astounding 21-2 against the Trojans inside Curry Arena and have not lost since Feb. 15, 2010 when Anderson upended Queens 75-73.


Quick Facts (Game Notes)
Queens University of Charlotte (12-2, 8-2 South Atlantic Conference)

• In the season opener against Young Harris, the Royals set a new program record with 133 points scored as eight Royals finished with double figures.
• Head Coach Bart Lundy picked up his 400^th career victory in the dominant season opener. Lundy is in his 14^th season at Queens and 20^th season overall as a collegiate head coach.
• Queens has scored 80 or more points in all 11 of their wins this season and are a perfect 10-0 when leading at halftime.
• The Royals checked in at No. 12 in the D2SIDA National Media Poll and No. 13 in the NABC National Poll as well as No. 1 in the D2SIDA Regional Poll.
• Following a dominant season last year, Jamari Smith has returned to the Royals lineup and leads the team in scoring with 15.9 points per game while hauling in 5.4 rebounds per game. Smith is coming off his seventh career double-double in the victory over Lenoir-Rhyne.
• Queens has been efficient distributing the ball this season as five Royals are averaging at least eight points. Veteran guard Kenny Dye facilitates the offense and is No. 24 in the nation in assists per game with 5.6 while also adding 14.4 points per game. Dye was named InterCon Player of the Month following his outstanding performance in December.
• Crashing the glass continues to be a priority for Bart Lundy's team as they are fifth in the country with 15.21 offensive rebounds per game. Gavin Rains has been physical on the block pulling down 8.3 rebounds per contest, including a league-best 3.9 offensive boards.  Rains won the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week for the week of December 28 for his double-double against Johnson & Wales University, scoring 19 points and wrestling down 12 rebounds.
• The Royals are No. 18 in the nation in scoring offense averaging 86.0 points per game.
• Queens has been efficient shooting the deep ball as Kenny Dye leads the conference draining 55-percent of his three-point opportunities.
• Queens continues to display their depth as nine Royals are averaging at least 13.0 minutes per game.
• Junior guard Kenny Dye notched his 1,000th career point in the 80-72 victory over Wingate on Dec. 15. Dye became the 19th player in program history to hit the 1,000-point mark.

 
Anderson (7-7, 4-6 SAC)

• The Trojans come into Wednesday on a two-game losing skid after rattling off four straight victories. Anderson has lost by a combined eight points in the back-to-back losses. The Trojans were upended by Georgia College, 83-81, before falling to Catawba College 93-87 earlier this week.
• The four-game winning streak was the longest consecutive streak by the Trojans since they tallied five straight in the 2019-20 season. During that four-game winning streak, the Trojans recorded three critical conference wins against Coker, Limestone, and Lenoir-Rhyne while adding a non-conference win at Young Harris.
• The Trojans kicked off the new season with a promising upset victory over Southeast Region powerhouse Flagler College, 80-77 in the 2021 Conference Crossover Tournament.
• Anderson is allowing teams to shoot 44.8-percent from the floor and 34.2-percent from beyond the arc this season, while shooting 47-percent from the field and 36.5-percent from downtown themselves.
• The Trojans have forced 14.5 turnovers per game as they average 5.9 steals per contest. Anderson consistently gets to the free throw line averaging 20.7 attempts per game while making 72.1-percent of their shots from the charity stripe.
• The Trojans have three players ranked top ten in the conference averaging 16.0 points per game. Quin Nottingham leads the charge with 16.9 points and 5.6 assists per game. Crosby James II is averaging 16.3 points and Parker Dortch is adding 16.1. The trio combines for 49.3 points on average while Anderson is averaging 77.9 points as team.

The Queens University of Charlotte Department of Athletics has announced updates to its fan attendance policy for upcoming home athletic events due to the current rise in COVID-19 cases locally, statewide, and nationally. For the immediate future, Queens Athletics events will not be open to the general public.  Only individuals whose names are on the player/guest pass list will be admitted. Guest from visiting teams should work through their respective institutions to ensure that they are able to attend.  Additionally, social distancing and face coverings are required at all times.  Gates will open 30 minutes prior to the start of the scheduled event.  No tailgating is allowed on the premises.  This new policy will go into effect on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022.
 
Queens Athletics will continue to stream as many home events as possible on the Queens Sports Network. To keep up with the Royals from home, stream games live on your computer or mobile devices by visiting www.queensathletic.com or downloading the Queens Royals app. 

Additionally, fans can download the Queens Athletics app on their Roku, Apple TV, or Amazon Fire TV devices.  Just type Queens University or Queens University Athletics into the search bar. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on all social media platforms by searching @QueensAthletics for updates.

Be sure to follow the Royals men's basketball program on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on all the latest news and updates surrounding the team. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media @QueensAthletics to follow all of the Royals sports in action.