CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 10/15 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (22-3, 18-3 SAC) will go for their 10^th straight victory on Wednesday night when they welcome Limestone University (9-13, 7-12 SAC) to Curry Arena for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. The Royals enter Wednesday night at the top of the South Atlantic Conference standings as well as No. 1 in the Southeast Region with just two games remaining after Wednesday night. Following the action, the Royals will have a week off before they go on the road to Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday, Feb. 23. Queens will wrap up the regular season at home on Saturday, Feb. 26 when they welcome Wingate for a conference showdown.

Wednesday­ night marks the 37^th all-time meeting between Queens and Limestone, with the Royals owning a 26-10 all-time advantage. The conference opponents matched up earlier this year and Queens held on to an 80-71 victory on the road. In the win, Jamari Smith led all scorers with 23 points while grabbing five rebounds. Four Royals reached double figures, including Smith, Kenny Dye, AJ McKee, and BJ McLaurin. The Royals have not lost to the Saints since suffering a season sweep during the 2012-13 season. The two schools first met on Dec. 9, 1995 as the Royals took the first 14 meetings.

Quick Facts (Game Notes)
Queens University of Charlotte (22-3, 18-3 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.
• Queens is in the midst of their longest winning streak of the season, nine-straight games, with a chance to win out in the regular season.  Over this nine-game stretch, the Royals are averaging 89.7 points per game on the strength of 50-percent from the floor and 40-percent from beyond the arc.  
• The Royals are coming off their ninth-straight victory against UVA Wise, 114-60. The 54-point victory was the second straight game in which the Royals won by 50+ points. In the victory, the Royals tied the program record with 19 made three pointers, including five from AJ McKee. Six Royals finished in double figures as Jamari Smith led the way with 21 points which marks the 23^rd time he has reached double figures this season. BJ McLaurin was dominant off the bench scoring six points while grabbing nine rebounds across 18 minutes of action.
• Queens is a perfect 20-0 this season when leading at the half and 18-0 when dropping at least 80 points. When the Royals shoot better than 45-percent, they are 16-0 this year.
• Jamari Smith has led the Royals all season long, and is fifth in the conference, with 17.0 points per game and is top 10 with his 6.7 rebounds per game.  Smith has collected seven double doubles this season increasing his career total to 12. 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 second in the conference with 5.2 assists per game. He is also the conference's best three-point shooter, cashing in 51-percent of the time from deep with 42 total made three pointers on the season, helping him tally 14.0 points per game.
• Crashing the glass continues to be a priority for Bart Lundy's team as they are top 10 in the country in rebounding margin, outrebounding opponents by 8.0 per game, and total offensive rebounds with 344 on the season.  They are top eight with 13.76 offensive rebounds per game.  The Royals have had 40 or more rebounds in all but two games in this current nine-game win streak, and have done it 16 times this season. They have ripped down double-digit offensive rebounds in all but four games this season.  Gavin Rains has been physical on the block pulling down 8.1 rebounds per contest, including a league-best 3.5 offensive boards.
• The Royals are No. 10 in the nation in scoring offense averaging 87.6 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.

Limestone (9-13, 7-12 South Atlantic Conference)

• Limestone enters Wednesday night as losers of their last two games. The Saints are 3-7 over their last 10 games, including a three-game winning streak over UVA Wise, Mars Hill, and Coker.
• The Saints are averaging 73.6 points per game on 44.8-percent shooting from the field and 33.5-percent from behind the arc. The Saints are being outrebounded by 2.8 boards a game. Limestone only commits 13.5 turnovers per game while forcing 15.0 a game. Opponents are scoring 74.7 points per game on 45-percent from the field and 36-percent from behind the arc.
• Eight Saints are averaging at least 14.0 minutes per game. Three Saints are averaging over 13 points per game, including a team-high 16.3 points from Ayo Dada. Ben Gahlert is the player to watch for Limestone as the sophomore forward puts up 15.4 points per game while bringing down 7.0 rebounds per game which are both top 10 in the conference.
• Head Coach Kyle Perry is in his third season as the Saints head coach holding a 15-48 record.
• Limestone was picked to finish 11^th in the conference following a 2-11 overall season last year.

 
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