JOHNSON CITY, TENN. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (8-2) will look to extend their winning streak on Wednesday night when the Royals face East Tennessee State University (4-6) inside Freedom Hall. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. and fans can tune into ESPN Plus for the broadcast.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Royals used a dominant second half effort to surge past the Big South leaders from High Point University by a final score of 87-79 on Friday night. Queens held the Panthers nationally ranked scoring offense to a 34-percent shooting mark in the second half. Senior Kenny Dye led the charge with a season-high 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field as he eclipsed 1,500 career points. Jay'Den Turner posted his seventh career double-double, and second this season with a 12 point and 11 rebound performance. Kalib Mathews added a career-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Queens capitalized on the physical battle going 22-for-31 from the charity stripe in the second half.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Wednesday night will mark the first meeting between the Royals and the Buccaneers. Against current SOCON programs, Queens is 6-7 overall with games against UNC Greensboro, Wofford, and Western Carolina. The Royals last meeting with a SOCON school was against Western Carolina on Dec. 1, 1999.
 
Game Notes
QUEENS UNIVERSITY OF CHARLOTTE (8-2 overall; 0-0 ASUN)

• Queens enters Wednesday night averaging 81.7 points per game on 47-percent shooting from the field and 34-percent from behind the arc. The Royals rank second in the ASUN and top 30 nationally in points per outing.
• On defense, the Royals are allowing 69.7 points per game on 42-percent shooting from the field and 29-percent from behind the arc. The Royals perimeter defense is second best in the ASUN behind Jacksonville.
• The Royals have opened the season 8-2 for the second consecutive season.
• Kenny Dye is the leader of the veteran Royals squad as the senior is averaging a team-high 17.8 points per game while hauling in 3.9 boards and dishing out 4.3 assists per game. The Royals are 103-22 when Dye is in the starting lineup as he is top three in points per game and assists per game.
• Junior Gavin Rains has been a force on the block for the Royals to open the season. The Trinity, N.C. native is averaging 7.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. The forward leads the ASUN in rebounds per game and is second in field goal percentage. Across the nation in D1, Rains is top 10 in rebounds per game. The forward has been a double-double machine producing 18 double-doubles in his career, and four this season.
• AJ McKee has been a consistent producer this season reaching double figures in all 10 games. McKee posted a career-high 16 points against Lynchburg as he sits second on the team in scoring and minutes per game. The sophomore matched his season-high six free throws made against the Panthers on Friday.
• BJ McLaurin and Kalib Mathews have been weapons for the Royals as the duo is averaging a combined 17.6 points on 48-percent shooting from the field and 44-percent from behind the arc. McLaurin dropped in a season-high 16 points behind a career-best four three pointers at George Mason while Mathews is coming off a career-high 16 points against High Point.
• The Royals are outrebounding opponents this season 432-323. Through 10 games, Queens is first in the ASUN in rebounds per game with 43.2 and second in the league in offensive boards per game with 13.8.

 
EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY (4-6 overall; 0-0 SOCON)

• East Tennessee State enters Wednesday night on a two-game losing skid. The Buccaneers are 4-6 overall and 3-2 inside Freedom Hall.
• The Buccaneers are averaging 70.7 points per game on 45-percent shooting from the field and 29-percent from behind the arc. The ETSU defense has played well as opponents are scoring 67.2 points per game on 44-percent shooting from the field and 31-percent from deep. The Bucs scoring defense is second in the SOCON.
• ETSU is led offensively by Preseason All-Conference standout Jordan King who is scoring a team-high 13.8 points per game on 33-percent shooting. The Siena transfer is grabbing 4.3 rebounds and dishing out 2.7 assists per game.
• Jalen Haynes is second on the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game. The Virginia Tech transfer is bringing down 5.6 rebounds per game across 28.5 minutes per game.
• The Buccaneers are outrebounding opponents by 4.1 boards as they average 35.9 rebounds per game.
• ETSU is an experienced squad which features eight college transfers.
• Last year, ETSU finished the season with a 15-17 overall record and lost in the opening round of the SOCON Tournament to The Citadel.
• Desmond Oliver enters his second season at the helm of the Buccaneers program. In the last two seasons, ETSU is 19-23 under Coach Oliver.

 
Fans and families can purchase their tickets for Wednesday night's game by visiting the East Tennessee Athletics website. The game will tipoff at 7:00 from Freedom Hall and the broadcast will begin at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN Plus.

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.