RICHMOND, KY. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (11-3 overall, 1-0 ASUN) will look to ring in the New Year victorious as the Royals are set to face Eastern Kentucky University (7-6 overall, 0-0 ASUN) on Saturday afternoon inside McBrayer Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. EST and the game will be broadcasted on ESPN Plus.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Royals used an incredible second half surge to erase a 16-point deficit as Queens took down Austin Peay University to claim their first ASUN victory. Queens managed to hold the Governors to three field goals in the final 10 minutes while the Royals shot an impressive 56-percent in the second stanza. Senior Kenny Dye led the charge with a game-high 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and an 8-for-14 clip at the charity stripe. AJ McKee reached double figures for the 14^th straight game scoring 14 points and Gavin Rains hauled in 13 boards for the Royals.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday evening will mark the first meeting between the Royals and the Colonels. The showdown will be the first ASUN game this season for Eastern Kentucky.
 
Game Notes
QUEENS UNIVERSITY OF CHARLOTTE (11-3 overall; 1-0 ASUN)

• Queens enters Thursday night averaging 80.2 points per game on 46-percent shooting from the field and 34-percent from behind the arc. The Royals rank second in the ASUN in scoring offense and first amongst provisional schools reclassifying to D1.
• On defense, the Royals are allowing 71.2 points per game on 43-percent shooting from the field and 31-percent from behind the arc. The Royals perimeter defense is third best in the ASUN behind Jacksonville and North Florida.
• Queens has won their conference opener in the last nine seasons dating back to 2014-15.
• Through games on Dec. 29^th, Queens sits 181^st in the KenPom Rankings and 137^th in the Net Rankings.
• Three current Royals rank top 10 in career defensive rebounds in program history, including Gavin Rains (6^th), Jay'Den Turner (8^th), and Kenny Dye (9^th).
• Kenny Dye is the leader of the veteran Royals squad as the senior is averaging a team-high 17.9 points per game while hauling in 4.2 boards and dishing out 4.7 assists per game. The Royals are 106-23 when Dye is in the starting lineup as he is top three in points per game and assists per game in the ASUN.
• Junior Gavin Rains has been a force on the block for the Royals to open the season. The Trinity, N.C. native is averaging 7.0 points and 10.6 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 14 games. McKee is the only player in the league to reach double figures in every game.
• BJ McLaurin and Kalib Mathews have been weapons for the Royals as the duo are averaging a combined 18.0 points on 54-percent shooting from the field. McLaurin dropped in a season-high 16 points behind a career-best four three pointers at George Mason while Mathews scored a career-high 16 points against High Point.
• Quan McCluney has found his rhythm recently averaging 9.5 points in the last six games. During that span, the senior has eclipsed double figures in three games as he has made at least two three pointers in 5-of-6 games.
• The Royals are outrebounding opponents this season 575-458. Through 14 games, Queens is first in the ASUN in rebounds per game with 41.5 and second in the league in offensive boards per game with 13.1.

 
AUSTIN PEAY STATE UNIVERSITY (6-7 overall; 0-0 ASUN)

• Eastern Kentucky enters Saturday evening 6-7 overall and looking to extend their two-game winning streak. The Colonels took down Radford (67-65) and UNC Greensboro (68-64) at home as they are an impressive 5-1 inside Baptist Health Arena.
• Eastern Kentucky is a high-powered offense averaging 81.0 points per game on 43-percent shooting from the field and 36-percent from behind the arc. The Colonels lead the league in points per game and rank 32^nd nationally in scoring offense. EKU has scored 120+ points on three occasions this season, including 140 points against Boyce College on Dec. 10^th.
• On defense, the Colonels are surrendering 73.3 points per game as opponents are shooting 42-percent from the field and 32-percent from deep.
• EKU is a physical squad under the basket as they are closely behind the Royals bringing in 39.9 rebounds per game. The Colonels lead the league in offensive boards per game with 13.8.
• Devontae Blanton is the leader for the Colonels as the junior is averaging a team-high 15.8 points per game while grabbing 6.0 rebounds per game. Blanton is top five in the league in scoring.
• Michael Moreno is the second leading scorer for EKU pouring in 12.5 points per game and bringing down a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game.
• Last season, Eastern Kentucky finished 13-18 overall and 5-11 in league play as they fell to Kennesaw State in the opening round of the ASUN Tournament.
• A.W. Hamilton enters his fifth season at the helm of the Colonels program. Under Hamilton, EKU is 71-66 overall.

 
Fans and families can purchase their tickets for Saturday night's game by visiting the Eastern Kentucky Athletics website. The game will tipoff at 4:00PM from McBrayer Arena 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.