CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 14/18 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team will look to pick up their fifth straight victory when they square off with the UVA Wise Cavaliers on Monday night inside the David J. Convocation Center in Wise, Va. The 5:00 p.m. tip-off is a rescheduled date and time from earlier in the month due to COVID-19 protocols. The Royals enter Monday night sitting in first place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 17-3 record and 13-3 mark in league play. Following Monday night's action, the Royals will stay on the road for a game at Catawba on Wednesday before wrapping up the busy week at home on Saturday against Carson-Newman.

Monday night marks the 3^rd all-time meeting between Queens and UVA Wise, with the Royals winning both games previously. The conference opponents matched up twice for the first-time last season in a home-and-home split. In the first meeting, Quan McCluney recorded his first career double-double with a 15 point and 11 rebound effort. In the second meeting, AJ McKee notched a career-high 32 points to lead the Royals to victory. Jamari Smith and Kenny Dye would both record a double-double as Smith finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds while Dye added 16 points and 11 assists. On average through the first two meetings, Queens is shooting 52-percent from the field while outrebounding Wise 48-28. The Royals 55 rebounds in their last matchup tied a season-high.

Quick Facts (Game Notes)
Queens University of Charlotte (17-3, 13-3 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 their fourth straight victory in their lone game last week. Queens handled Newberry 76-61 to improve to 13-3 in South Atlantic Conference play. In the win, Jay'Den Turner and Jamari Smith led the Royals with a double-double each. Turner recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds, including nine offensive boards. Smith would maintain his dominant averages putting up 17 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. This is the second time this season that Smith and Turner has posted a double-double in the same game.
• Queens is a perfect 15-0 this season when leading at the half and when dropping 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 16.7 points per game and ripping down 6.7 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. Smith enters Monday night's contest needing just 14 points to be the 20^th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
• 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 in the top 25 in the nation with 5.2 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 14.7 points per game.
• Crashing the glass continues to be a priority for Bart Lundy's team as they are top 10 in the country with 14.20 offensive rebounds per game and 12th in rebound margin, outrebounding opponents by 8.0 per game. Gavin Rains has been physical on the block pulling down a 8.1 rebounds per contest, including a league-best 3.5 offensive boards.
• The Royals are No. 16 in the nation in scoring offense averaging 86.2 points per game.
• 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.

UVA Wise (1-17, 0-14 South Atlantic Conference)

• UVA Wise enters Monday night as losers of their last eight games. The Cavaliers lone victory this season came on the road at Emory & Henry College on Dec. 11. Wise dropped the Wasps 103-95 in overtime.
• Despite the record, the Cavaliers possess a deep unit as 11 players are averaging at least 15.0 minutes per game. The Cavaliers distribute the basketball well as seven players are averaging at least 8.5 points, including four players over 10.0 points per game. UVA Wise is averaging 71.4 points per game on 43-percent shooting from the field and 31-percent from behind the arc. The Cavaliers defense has struggled this season as they are being outscored by 16.8 points per game as opponents are shooting 50-percent and putting up 88.2 points per game. Wise is prone to turn the basketball over as they average a league-high 17.1 turnovers per game.
• The Cavaliers leading scorer, Kaeleb Carter is packing the stats sheet with 12.8 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per contest. Joel Pettiford is having a great season putting up 12.4 points per outing while snatching 6.4 rebounds per game which ranks 12^th best in the conference.
• Head Coach Blake Mellinger is in his ninth season as the Cavaliers head coach racking up 61 wins since he took over in 2013.
• UVA Wise was picked to finish 13^th in the conference following a 5-13 overall season last year.

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.