CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team will head north for the weekend to compete in the Market Street Challenge hosted on the campus of Drexel University. The Royals will open the weekend on Saturday, November 18^th at 6:00 p.m. against Fairfield University from the MAAC. Following the Saturday night showdown, the Royals will square off against the hosts from Drexel on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. All games will be broadcast on FloHoops.
 
WEEKEND GUIDE
Dates: November 18-19, 2023
Time: 6:00 PM | 2:00 PM
Location: Daskalakis Athletic Center (Philadelphia, Pa.)
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THE MATCHUP
The Market Street Challenge on the campus of Drexel University will be the host site for the Royals first meeting with Fairfield and Drexel.
 
SCOUTING THE ROYALS (1-2 overall, 0-0 ASUN)

• Queens is coming off their first victory of the 2023-24 campaign with a 74-72 win over High Point on Tuesday night. The win extended the Royals all-time lead over the Panthers to 6-3 as they improved to 237-78 overall inside Curry Arena.
• Turnovers plagued the Royals through the first two games as Queens averaged 17.0 turnovers which were converted into 24.5 points. In the last outing, the Royals took care of the basketball only committing five turnovers which were converted into two points. In the last two seasons, the Royals are 3-1 in non-conference play when committing fewer turnovers than their opposition.
• The last multi-team event (MTE) that the Royals attended was the 2022 Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic. Queens took down Green Bay and Morgan State to claim the Rose Hall Division title.
• Veteran scorers AJ McKee and BJ McLaurin became the 21^st and 22^nd players to eclipse 1,000 career points in program history. The duo reached the milestone in the Royals victory over High Point.
• Preseason All-Conference recipient AJ McKee anchors the Royals offense and is averaging 19.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. The Charlotte native sits second in the league in scoring and top 20 in assists.
• Junior guard Deyton Albury has put together a solid start to his first campaign in the Queen City. The Nassau, Bahamas native turned in a game-high 19 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists against the Herd in the season opener. On the year, Albury is second on the team in scoring averaging 15.0 points per game while also leading the squad in rebounds and assists per game.
• Speed is the name of the game for the Royals style of play as they averaged the second most points in the league at 77.7 last season. The mark was also the most amongst any school in the NCAA reclassification process.
• Queens is not afraid to shoot their shot from behind the arc as they averaged the fourth most three-pointers per game last season at 26.5 in 2022-23. Three-point specialist Chris Ashby went 5-for-14 from behind the arc in the opener across a career-high 33 minutes of action.
• Crashing the glass continues to be an emphasis for the Royals after pulling down the second most rebounds per game in the league. The Royals are 16-6 in Division 1 when outrebounding their opponent and just 3-11 when losing the battle on the glass.
• The Royals are one of the nation's most efficient teams at getting to the free-throw line. Deyton Albury, AJ McKee, and BJ McLaurin sit top 15 in the league in free throw percentage. Queens is 11-5 in non-conference Division 1 games in which they attempt more free throws than their opponent.
• Despite losing seven players, the Royals filled the void with key additions, including a pair of top 50 JUCO players in Deyton Albury and Jacobi Sebock. Queens added size and depth with Salt Lake Community College transfer Jaxon Pollard and Georgetown transfer Malcolm Wilson. Additionally, Queens paired the veteran talent with fresh youngsters in North Carolina high school standouts Bryce Cash and Kobe George.

 
SCOUTING THE STAGS (1-2 overall, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)

• Fairfield enters the Market Street Challenge 1-2 overall and coming off a dominant 92-45 win against Mount Saint Mary.
• The Stags will square off against Drexel on Friday at 7:00 p.m. before taking on the Royals on Saturday night.
• Fairfield presents a high-tempo offense that is averaging 80.7 points per game. The Stags don't shy away from shooting behind the arc as they attempt the fourth-most three-pointers per game and sink the sixth-most at 12.7 per contest.
• Redshirt senior Brycen Goodine returned to the Stags front court and leads the offense in scoring at 20.3 points per game. The Providence transfer is second in the league in scoring.
• Fairfield was picked to finish sixth in the MAAC following a 13-18 overall mark last season. The Stags were upended by Saint Peter's in the opening round of the conference tournament.
• Head coach Chris Casey enters his first season at the helm of the Stags. Casey is embarking on his 13^th season as a head coach with previous stops at Niagara, Rutgers-Newark, and LIU Post.

 
SCOUTING THE DRAGONS (1-2 overall, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)

• Drexel enters the weekend 1-2 overall and coming off a 66-64 loss at cross-town rival Temple on Tuesday night.
• The Dragons will kick off the Market Street Challenge on Friday at 7:00 p.m. against Fairfield.
• Drexel is the 305^th scoring offense in the country averaging 66.3 points per game. The Dragons are attempting 19.0 three pointers per game, but only connecting on 28 percent of those attempts.
• The Dragons are led by CAA Preseason Player of the Year, Amari Williams. The senior is averaging 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game this season.
• Drexel was picked to finish third in the CAA Preseason Poll following a 17-15 overall record last year.
• Head coach Zach Spiker enters his eighth season at the helm of the Dragons program. During his time in Philadelphia, Spiker is 94-120 overall. Over his 15-year career, Spiker is 196-232 overall.

 
WHAT'S NEXT
Following the Market Street Challenge, the Royals will return to the Queen City for a Wednesday night showdown with Fairleigh Dickinson University. The two programs will meet for the second time ever on November 22^nd at 7:00 p.m. as the Royals will look to improve to 2-0 all-time against the Knights. Fans can purchase their tickets in advance by visiting the Queens Athletics website.
 
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