CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For the eighth straight season, the No. 6/9 Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (26-3, 21-3 SAC) will compete in the South Atlantic Conference tournament semifinals when they battle with Newberry College (15-12, 14-10 SAC) inside Timmons Arena on the campus of Furman University on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. The Royals reached the semifinal round after picking up their 13^th straight victory downing Catawba College in the quarterfinals 78-60 on Wednesday night. In the other semifinal game, Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman will compete for a spot in the conference championship on Sunday evening. Fans can catch all of the action on the Eagle Sports Network as Carson-Newman will be providing video coverage for all three games, or fans can preorder tickets by visiting the conference website or purchase tickets at the box office. For the entire tournament, there will not be a guest pass list.

Saturday night's meeting will mark the 27^th contest between Queens and Newberry, and the third meeting this season with the Royals owning a 20-6 all-time advantage. The Royals and Wolves split the regular season series as Queens fell on the road before downing Newberry in Charlotte. In the victory, Jamari Smith and Jay'Den Turner each posted a double-double. Smith recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds while Turner poured in 12 points and snagged 10 boards. AJ McKee had an impressive showing with 10, six rebounds, and three assists. Josh Dilling tied his season-high with 15 points off the bench. Queens outrebounded the Wolves 41-27, including 16 offensive boards as a team and nine from Jay'Den Turner. The loss by the Royals in the first meeting of the season snapped a streak of 10 straight wins over the Wolves. The two programs first met on Nov. 17, 1991 with the Royals owning the first seven games.
 
Quick Facts (Game Notes)
Queens University of Charlotte (26-3, 21-3 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.
• The Royals are coming off their 13^th straight victory on Wednesday night when they took down Catawba, 78-60 in the SAC Quarterfinals. In the win against the Indians, Queens used a dominant second half outscoring the visitors 44-26 to advance to the conference semifinals for the eighth straight year. In the victory, ten different Royals scored as Kenny Dye led the way with 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists. The Royals snatched a season-high 56 rebounds, including 23 offensive boards which they converted for 21 second chance points.
• Queens is a perfect 22-0 this season when leading at the half and 20-0 when scoring at least 80 points. When the Royals shoot better than 45-percent, they are 18-0.
• Jamari Smith has led the Royals all season long, scoring 17.0 points per game and ripping down 7.0 rebounds per game.  Smith has collected nine double-doubles this season increasing his career total to 14. The forward has been named South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week four times this season. He is the only player in the conference given the AstroTurf Player of the Week more than twice this season and becomes the first Royal in program history to receive the honor four times in a season.
• 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 is second 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, helping him tally 14.0 points per game.
• Crashing the glass continues to be a priority for Bart Lundy's team as they are fourth in the country in rebounding margin, outrebounding opponents by 9.0 per game. They are top five with 14.31 offensive rebounds per game. Gavin Rains has been physical on the block pulling down a 7.4 rebounds per contest, including a league-best 3.2 offensive boards.
• The Royals are No. 14 in the nation in scoring offense averaging 86.5 points per game.
• Queens has displayed their depth as 11 Royals are averaging at least 8.0 minutes per game.
• Jamari Smith and Kenny Dye were both named SAC First Team All-Conference. Smith was awarded Conference Player of the Year as the Jonesboro, Ga. native is averaging 17.0 points per game while hauling in 7.0 rebounds per game. He became the fourth Royal to be named Conference Player of the Year, and the first since 2018-19. Kenny Dye earned First Team nods following a season in which he averaged 14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game. The junior was second in the conference in assists per game and top 25 nationally.
• 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
• The Royals opened the new season with a dominant 133-80 victory over Young Harris. The milestone victory was head coach Bart Lundy's 400th career win and the most points scored in program history.
• 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.

Newberry College (15-12, 14-10 South Atlantic Conference)

• The sixth seeded Wolves opened the conference tournament with an upset victory over the No. 3 Tusculum Pioneers coming back from being down 17 points. Newberry is 6-4 in their last 10 games, including two straight wins against Lenoir-Rhyne in the regular season finale and Tusculum in the conference quarterfinals. Over their last ten game stretch, Newberry is holding opponents to 64.3 points on 43-percent shooting from the field.
• On the season, the Wolves are averaging 67.1 points per outing on a 42-percent field goal percentage and 30-percent three-point percentage. On the glass, Newberry pulls down 36.1 rebounds per game which is eighth best in the conference, including 12.1 offensive boards which is third best in the league. The Wolves play solid defense only allowing 67.2 points per game on 44-percent shooting from the field. In the Royals loss to the Wolves, Queens struggled shooting making 42-percent from the field and 16-percent from deep.
• Newberry has eight players averaging at least 12 minutes per game, including 31.9 minutes from Marcus Ford. The Wolves have been led all season by QuanDaveon McCollum who is averaging 13.0 points per game on 49-percent shooting from the field while snatching 7.4 rebounds per game. TJ Brown is pouring in 12.5 points per game and 3.2 rebounds. McCollum and Brown were both named South Atlantic Conference Second Team.
• Head Coach Jason Taylor is in his second season as the Wolves head coach holding a 24-18 record.
• Newberry was picked to finish 5^th in the conference preseason rankings following a 9-6 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.