CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 14/18 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team is set to tackle a tough Newberry College (9-7, 9-5 SAC) team on Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. for the #SuitsAndSneakers game inside Curry Arena as a part of the American Cancer Society and National Association of Basketball Coaches' Coaches vs. Cancer campaign.  In what will be their third game in five days, the Royals could keep pace at the top of the league, extend their win streak to four games, and avenge a tough December loss, with a victory against the Wolves.  Queens comes into Wednesday night sitting in first place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 16-3 record thus far.  With just nine regular season games left to be played, Queens is sitting in a great position to capture another 1-seed in this year's conference tournament. 

Wednesday night marks the 26^th all-time meeting between Queens and Newberry, with the Royals holding a 19-6 series lead.  The 67-65 win for Newberry earlier this season at home snapped a 10-game win streak for Queens in the series.  In fact, it was the first victory for the Wolves over the Royals since the 2015 campaign.  Queens has won five-straight matchups at home and have scored no less than 92 points in any of those games.  The Royals have eclipsed the 100-point mark in three of those games, including a series-high 115 points in February of 2019.  Queens held Newberry to their 2nd lowest point total in this matchup's history in the first meeting this season.  Quan McCluney led the Royals in that first game with 15 points on 5-12 shooting from the field.  Kenny Dye added 14 points and three assists in the comeback effort.  Gavin Rains and Jay'Den Turner tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven a piece, four on the offensive glass for Rains.

Both teams are proudly participating in the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer -Suits And Sneakers Week by wearing their sneakers to raise awareness about the fight against cancer and inspire hope. Their efforts, along with Coaches vs. Cancer supporters nationwide, will help the American Cancer Society attack cancer from every angle and provide support to millions of cancer patients living in the U.S. today.  This year's American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer - Suits And Sneakers Week also serves as a reminder that cancer patients and survivors have been especially affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Cancer hasn't stopped, and neither have the efforts to ensure cancer patients and survivors can safely resume necessary treatments and screenings.  You can help coach Bart Lundy raise awareness about the fight against cancer, a disease which will affect one in three men and women in the U.S. in their lifetime. Help fight cancer and inspire hope.

Quick Facts (Game Notes)
Queens University of Charlotte (16-3, 12-3 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.
• The Royals are coming off a 2-0 week, including a statement overtime victory, 88-85 at Tusculum and a dominant 49-point win against Mars Hill. Kenny Dye hit double figures against the Pioneers for the 14^th time this season leading the Royals with 24 points which ties his season-high. Jamari Smith would continue his dominance in both games as the junior recorded his eighth and ninth double-doubles averaging 19 points and 12 rebounds.
• Queens is a perfect 14-0 this season when leading at the half and 15-0 when dropping in at least 80 points. When the Royals shoot better than 45-percent, they are 12-0 this year.
• Jamari Smith has led the Royals all season long, scoring 16.3 points per game and ripping down 6.5 rebounds per game.  Because of his back to back 19 point and 12 rebound double doubles in the overtime win at Tusculum and the route of Mars Hill, Smith was honored for a third time this season as the South Atlantic Conference's AstroTurf Player of the Week for Week 11.  He is the only player in the conference with that honor more than twice this season and is the first player since 2018 to be chosen three or more times.
• Queens has been efficient distributing the ball this season as six Royals are averaging at least 8.5 points per game.  Veteran guard Kenny Dye facilitates the offense and sits atop the conference with 101 assists on the seaosn, while being in the top 25 in the nation with 5.4 assists per game.  He is also the conference's best three-point shooter, cashing in 52.5% of the time from deep, helping him tally 14.8 points per game.  Dye posted a 14 point night in the loss to Newberry on the road.
• Crashing the glass continues to be a priority for Bart Lundy's team as they are top 10 in the country with 14.11 offensive rebounds per game and 11th in rebound margin, outrebounding opponents by 7.9 per game. Gavin Rains has been physical on the block pulling down a league-best 8.1 rebounds per contest, including 3.5 offensive boards.
• The Royals are No. 13 in the nation in scoring offense averaging 86.7 points per game.
• Queens has been efficient shooting the deep ball with five guys shooting 38.0-percent or better.  Four of those five have made 26 or more three point shots on the season, Kenny Dye tallying a team-high 32 so far.
• Queens has displayed their depth as nine Royals are averaging at least 13.0 minutes per game.  There are 12 total players on the roster who consistently get more than 7.0 minutes per game on the floor.
• 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 1K mark.
• The Royals opened the new season with a dominant 133-80 victory over Young Harris. The milestone victory was head coach Bart Lundy's 400th career win and the most points scored in program history.
• Jamari Smith and Kenny Dye were both named to the 2022 Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List, as announced by Small College Basketball on Saturday, Jan. 15. The award is presented to one player who had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball.

Newberry (9-7, 9-5 SAC)

• After dropping their first five contests to open the new season, Newberry has gotten red-hot having won nine of their last 11 games, including an upset over #6 Queens at the time.  The Wolves have outshot their opponents in all but one of those 11 games, averaging about 44-percent from the floor as a team.
• Newberry has the second-ranked scoring defense in the conference, allowing just 68.4 points per game to conference opponents this season.  The Wolves have held other teams in the South Atlantic Conference to just 30.9-percent from three-point range.  They are in the bottom half of the league in three-point production of their own, however, finding the mark just 30.8-percent of the time.  Newberry has dropped in 11 three-pointers in three-straight games, with double digit made three's in four-straight. The Wolves have a +54 advantage on the offensive glass this season, with 213 of their 594 team rebounds coming on second-chance opportunities.  They have pulled down double digit offensive boards in five of their last six ballgames.  
• Newberry is paced by SAC Preseason First Team All-Conference honoree, QuanDaveon McCollum, who racks up a team-high 13.8 points per game while grabbing 7.6 rebounds per game, ranking the junior fourth in the league in rebounds per game. Marcus Ford and TJ Brown round out the Wolves scoring averaging 12.1 and 13.2 points per game, respectively. Ford has also been the key distributor tallying 57 assists this season, while leading the team in made three-point shots with 41 thus far.  
• Head Coach Jason Taylor is in his third season as the Wolves head coach racking up 32 wins since he took over in 2019.  Newberry is coming off their best season under Taylor as the Wolves went 9-6 last season.
• Newberry was picked to finish fifth in the conference following a 9-6 overall season, and 9-5 mark in SAC play last year.