MACON, Ga. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team is set to head south for a Tuesday night tilt at Mercer University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from Hawkins Arena and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.
 
GAMEDAY GUIDE
Dates: December 19, 2023
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Hawkins Arena (Macon, Ga.)
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THE MATCHUP
Tuesday night will mark the first meeting between Queens and Mercer. Since moving to Division 1, the Royals are 1-0 against SoCon opponents after taking down East Tennessee State University by a final score of 78-75 last season.
 
SCOUTING THE ROYALS (6-6 overall, 0-0 ASUN)

• Queens is coming off a tough 93-81 loss against Appalachian State last Wednesday night. The loss was the Royals first inside Curry Arena this season snapping a five-game streak. Junior Deyton Albury led all scorers with a career-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
• The Royals have found their offensive rhythm lately averaging 98.4 points over the last five games. Queens has reached the 80-point threshold six times this season and holds a 4-2 record in those games. In Division 1, the Royals are 38-7 when eclipsing 80 points.
• Queens has put up historic numbers on multiple occasions this season. Against Carolina Christina on December 1^st, the Royals broke the single-game scoring record with 134 points. Just a few games later, the Royals dropped 112 points against Carolina University which tied for sixth all-time.
• Queens is still searching for their first true road win of the season. The Royals only victory away from Curry Arena came against Fairfield University in the Market Street Challenge hosted by Drexel University.
• Distributing the ball is key for the Royals as they are 5-2 on the year when dishing out 15+ assists as a team. Queens ranks fourth in the ASUN in assists as Deyton Albury leads the way with 4.9 per game, a mark that is also fifth-best in the league.
• The Royals display one of the quickest offenses in the ASUN averaging 82.2 points per game which is third most in the league. The Royals rank 25^th in adjusted tempo by KenPom.
• Preseason All-Conference recipient AJ McKee anchors the Royals offense and is averaging 17.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. The Charlotte native sits fifth in the league in scoring and fourth in steals.
• Junior guard Deyton Albury has put together a solid start to his first campaign in the Queen City. The Nassau, Bahamas native is top 10 in the league in scoring, field goal percentage, steals, and assists. Albury turned in his first career double-double as a Royal with a 20-point and 10-assist performance against Winthrop.
• Senior BJ McLaurin has started all 12 games on the block for the Royals. The forward has reached double figures in seven games this year, including the last three contests. McLaurin turned in his second double-double of the season after scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against Winthrop.
• The Royals sport one of the best perimeter defenses in the conference holding opponents to a 30 percent clip which is fifth-best in the league. Against Gardner-Webb, the Royals held the visitors to a 3-for-17 mark from behind the arc, including an 0-for-6 clip in the second half.
• Winning the battle on the boards is a part of the Royals identity. In Division 1, Queens is 21-7 when outrebounding their opponent and 3-12 when losing the battle on the glass. This season, Queens is fourth in rebounds per game pulling down 39.3 boards per outing.
• The Royals are one of the league's most efficient teams at getting to the free-throw line. Deyton Albury, AJ McKee, and BJ McLaurin sit top 20 in the league in free throw percentage. Queens is 14-6 in non-conference Division 1 games in which they attempt more free throws than their opponent.

 
SCOUTING THE BEARS (4-6 overall, 0-0 SoCon)

• Mercer enters Tuesday night 4-6 overall, but winners of their last two games. The Bears took down FGCU 70-65 on Saturday afternoon. In the win, Jalen Cobb came off the bench to lead all scorers with a season-high 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field.
• The victory over the Eagles improved the Bears record at home to 2-2 this year.
• Mercer is averaging 65.4 points per game while shooting 43 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind the arc.
• Preseason All-SoCon recipient Jalyn McCreary leads the Bears with 13.3 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game.
• The Bears were picked to finish sixth in the SoCon Preseason Coaches Poll following a 14-19 record last year.
• Greg Gary is in his fifth season at the helm of the Bears. Under his direction, Mercer is 68-68. Gary earned 51 wins through his first three seasons which were the most by any coach in school history.

 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Royals will remain on the road as they travel to Clemson University on Friday, December 22^nd for a showdown with the Tigers. Clemson checked into the Associated Press Top 25 at #18 this week as they are 9-1 on the year. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the ACC Network and ESPN Plus. Fans can secure their tickets in advancing by visiting the Clemson Athletics website.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow the Royals on Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media to stay up to date on all the Royals sports in action.