CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 6/9 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (24-3, 20-3 SAC) will wrap up the regular season seeking their 12^th straight victory when they welcome crosstown rival Wingate University (21-6, 17-6 SAC) to Curry Arena on Saturday evening. Since the Royals do not have any seniors this season, Queens will instead represent Jamari Smith prior to the game for becoming the 20^th player to score 1,000 points in program history. The conference clash will be the final regular season game for both teams as the Royals are contesting for the top seed in the tournament which begins next week. Regardless of tomorrow night's outcome, Queens will host a South Atlantic Conference quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 2. The opponent and time are still to be determined based on the final weekend of action.

Saturday night marks the 43^rd all-time meeting between Queens and Wingate, with the Royals owning a 26-16 all-time advantage. The conference opponents matched up in the middle of December and the Royals emerged victorious 80-72. Jamari Smith led all scorers with 22 points while Gavin Rains contributed 10 points and seven rebounds. Kenny Dye would add 14 points and six assists as Queens shot 49-percent from the field. In the only game in Charlotte last season, the Bulldogs snapped an eight game losing skid with an 80-71 victory. In the all-time series, Queens is averaging 77.3 points per game which is slightly under their season average of 87.0 points per game.

Quick Facts (Game Notes)
Queens University of Charlotte (24-3, 20-3 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, 11 straight games, with a chance to win out in the regular season.  Over this 11 game stretch, the Royals are averaging 88.4 points per game on the strength of 49-percent from the floor and 39-percent from beyond the arc.  
• The Royals are coming off their 11^th straight victory against Lenoir-Rhyne, 89-62. Queens has won at least eight straight games in their last eight seasons and they are currently riding their fifth longest winning streak at 11 games. In the win versus Lenoir-Rhyne, Queens used a dominant first half outscoring the Bears 52-25 to cruise past the home team. Quan McCluney led the Royals with 18 points, including three deep balls in the first four minutes of action. Jamari Smith would record 16 points and five rebounds while Kenny Dye stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, five rebounds, and a game-high seven assists. The Royals relentless perimeter defense forced the Bears into a 7-percent mark from behind the arc.
• Queens is a perfect 21-0 this season when leading at the half and 19-0 when dropping at least 80 points. When the Royals shoot better than 45-percent, they are 17-0 this year.
• Jamari Smith has led the Royals all season long, and is fourth in the conference, with 17.1 points per game and is top 10 with his 6.8 rebounds per game. Smith has collected eight double-doubles this season increasing his career total to 13. 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 5.5 assists per game. He is also the conference's best three-point shooter, cashing in 51-percent of the time from deep with 45 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. They are top ten with 13.78 offensive rebounds per game.  The Royals have had 40 or more rebounds in all but two games in this current ten-game win streak, and have done it 18 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 7.4 rebounds per contest, including a league-best 3.3 offensive boards.
• The Royals are No. 12 in the nation in scoring offense averaging 87.1 points per game.
• Queens has displayed their depth as nine Royals are averaging at least 13.0 minutes per game.  There are 11 total players on the roster who consistently get more than 8.0 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 50 Watch List, as announced by Small College Basketball on Tuesday, Feb. 15. The award is presented to one player who had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball.

Wingate Bulldogs (21-6, 17-6 South Atlantic Conference)

• Wingate enters Saturday evening as winners of their last five games, including conference victories over Mars Hill, Limestone, Anderson, UVA Wise, and Catawba. During their five game winning streak, the Bulldogs are averaging 86.4 points per game while their relentless defense has only surrendered 66.2 points per game. In the most recent NCAA Southeast Regional rankings, the Bulldogs checked in at No. 7.
• On the season, Wingate is averaging 80.3 points per game which is third most in the league behind Lincoln Memorial and Queens. The Bulldogs scoring comes on 45-percent shooting from the field and 35-percent from deep. Wingate is allowing opponents to score 71.1 points per game on average with a 44-percent shooting from the field and 31-percent from behind the arc. The Bulldogs have been a team that will capitalize off turnovers averaging 19.4 points off turnovers.
• Wingate has eight players averaging at least 17.0 minutes on the season and four players averaging double figures. The Bulldogs offense runs through Preseason SAC First Team honoree Jarren Cottingham. The junior guard is averaging a team-high 16.7 points per game which is fifth best in the conference while also bringing down 4.7 rebounds. Donnell Nixon II facilitates the offense averaging a team-best 4.5 assists while also pouring in 11.3 points per game.
• Head Coach Brian Good enters his 12^th season with the Bulldogs. Under his direction, Wingate is 226-158.
• Wingate was picked to finish 6^th in the conference following an 11-9 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.
 
The Queens University of Charlotte Athletic Department has made updates to its fan policy for indoor sports as the COVID-19 climate continues to change. Starting Monday, Feb. 21, Queens Athletics events held inside Curry Arena will be open to fans up to 50 percent capacity. There is no longer a restriction on the general public attending. Teams currently in season that this effect are men's and women's basketball and men's volleyball. Masks are required while indoors for attendance. Please click here for the cost to attend events.
 
Social distancing and face coverings are required at all times.
 
Gates will open 30 minutes prior to the start of the scheduled event.
 
No tailgating is allowed on the premises.

Queens Athletics will continue to stream as many home events as possible on the Queens Sports Network. To keep up with the Royals from home, stream games live on your computer or mobile devices by visiting www.queensathletic.com or downloading the Queens Royals app. Additionally, fans can download the Queens Athletics app on their Roku, Apple TV, or Amazon Fire TV devices. Just type Queens University or Queens University Athletics into the search bar. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on all social media platforms by searching @QueensAthletics for updates. 
 
This policy is subject to change at any time based on changes in the current climate.