CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 10/15 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team will look to stretch their season-long win-streak to nine games on Saturday inside Curry Arena as they square off with the UVA Wise Cavaliers.  For the first time in the New Year, students will be allowed back into the building which should create an amazing atmosphere on the afternoon.  The Royals enter Saturday afternoon sitting in first place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 21-3 record and 17-3 mark in league play.  They also continue to find themselves fighting for the top spot in the Southeast Region heading into the final couple of weeks of the regular season.  Following Saturday afternoon's action, the Royals will stay home to battle Limestone on Wednesday, before getting a week off ahead of their final road game of the 2021-22 regular season at Lenoir Rhyne on Wednesday, February 23.

Saturday marks the 4^th all-time meeting between Queens and UVA Wise, with the Royals winning three previous matchups.  Queens downed the Cavaliers, 99-67, on January 31st in Wise, VA.  They had four guys in double figures with BJ McLaurin leading the way with 18 points.  Kenny Dye and Jamari Smith each added 16 points of their own, while Jay'Den Turner added 13 to the effort.  Queens shot 54.5-percent from field, despite only shooting 7-of-23 from beyond the arc.  The Royals forced 20 turnovers on the night, committing just seven of their own, to go along with 10 steals.  In the previous three meetings, Queens has scored 90 or more points, including 108 last season when they met here in Charlotte.  The Royals have averaged 99.3 points per game throughout this brief series history, this being only the second meeting all-time in Charlotte.

Quick Facts (Game Notes)
Queens University of Charlotte (21-3, 17-3 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.
• In the midst of their longest winning streak of the season, eight-straight games, with a chance to win out in the regular season.  Over this eight-game stretch, the Royals are averaging 87.0 points per game on the strength of 48.4-percent from the floor and 40-percent from beyond the arc.  
• The Royals are coming off their eighth-straight victory, and their largest margin of victory this season, on Wednesday night at Coker.  In the 103-53 win, Queens shot a season-high 62-percent and have now made 10 or more three-pointers in back to back games.  As a team, they had seven guys eclipse double digit points and were paced by Quan McCluney and Jamari Smith who each dropped in 13 points a piece.  McCluney had five rebounds and shot 50-percent on the night, while Smith was 5-of-9 from the floor and collected four boards of his own.  Kenny Dye, BJ McLaurin and, reigning South Atlantic Conference AstroTurf Player of the Week, Jay'Den Turner each had 12 points on the night.  Dye dished out five assists, while Turner gave out four as well.  Trey Hubbard and AJ McKee were the other Royals in double figures, with Hubbard tying for the team-lead in assists with five in the game.
• Queens is a perfect 19-0 this season when leading at the half and 17-0 when dropping at least 80 points. When the Royals shoot better than 45-percent, they are 15-0 this year.
• Jamari Smith has led the Royals all season long, and is fifth in the conference, with 16.8 points per game and is top 10 with his 6.8 rebounds per game.  Smith has collected seven double doubles this season, including two of his last three games.  He is the only player in the conference given the honor of AstroTurf Player of the Week 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 seven Royals are averaging at least 7.0 points per game.  Veteran guard Kenny Dye facilitates the offense and sits third in the conference with 5.3 assists per game. He is also the conference's best three-point shooter, cashing in 50-percent of the time from deep with 39 total made three pointers on the season, helping him tally 13.9 points per game.
• Crashing the glass continues to be a priority for Bart Lundy's team as they are top four in the country in rebounding margin, outrebounding opponents by 8.7 per game, and total offensive rebounds with 338 on the season.  They are top seven with 14.47 offensive rebounds per game.  The Royals have had 40 or more rebounds in all but one game in this current eight-game win streak, and have done it 16 times this season, five-consecutive.  They have ripped down double digit offensive rebounds in all but three games this season, including four of last five.  Gavin Rains has been physical on the block pulling down a 8.1 rebounds per contest, including a league-best 3.5 offensive boards.
• Queens has had single digit turnovers in two of last three games, while opponents have turned the ball over 10 or more times in all but three games this season, including eight-straight.
• The Royals are No. 15 in the nation in scoring offense averaging 86.5 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.
• Sophomore forward Jamari Smith scored his 1,000th career point in the 99-67 victory over UVA Wise on Jan. 31. Smith became the 20th player in program history to hit the 1K mark and second this season after Kenny Dye
• 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 (4-19, 3-16 South Atlantic Conference)

• UVA Wise enters Saturday afternoon with a little more juice than the last time these two teams met, having won three of their last four games.  Despite a tough day against No. 11 Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday, the Cavaliers had won three-straight games against Mars Hill, Anderson and Coker, respectively.  All of those wins were hard fought single-digit wins, but wins nonetheless, after starting the season 1-18 overall. 
• Despite the record, the Cavaliers possess a deep unit as 11 players are averaging at least 12.5 minutes per game. The Cavaliers distribute the basketball well as six players are averaging at least 7.3 points, including five players over 10.0 points per game. UVA Wise is averaging 71.6 points per game on 43-percent shooting from the field and 33-percent from behind the arc. The Cavaliers defense has struggled this season as they are being outscored by 16.4 points per game as opponents are shooting 50-percent from the floor, 37-percent from deep and putting up 88.0 points per game. Wise is prone to turn the basketball over as they average a league-high 17.0 turnovers per game.
• The Cavaliers are led by a pair of freshman forwards Joel Pettiford and Makai Vassell, who each average 11.7 points per game and lead the team in rebounding with over 6.1 per game.  Their main threat from beyond the arc is sophomore guard Isaiah McAmis who has splashed in 48 shots from beyond the arc this season, top 10 in the conference, to go along with 10.5 points per game.  Their other two double digit scorers, Bradley Dean and Tyler Lloyd, contribute 10.5 and 10.1 points per game, respectively.
• Head Coach Blake Mellinger is in his ninth season as the Cavaliers head coach racking up 64 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.