LYNCHBURG, VA. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team (17-13 overall, 7-10 ASUN) will look to close out the 2023 regular season strong on Friday, February 24^th at Liberty University (23-7 overall, 14-3 ASUN). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcasted on ESPN Plus.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Royals will look to avenge an 85-77 loss to the Flames on Wednesday night. Liberty managed to outscore Queens 53-41 in the second half. Despite the loss, Jay'Den Turner notched his 10^th career double-double with a 15-point and 12-rebound performance. BJ McLaurin poured in a career-high 19 points behind a season-high 7-for-8 shooting clip. AJ McKee turned in his 29^th double-digit performance of the season with a 17-point effort.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday night will mark the second all-time meeting between the Royals and the Flames. The only previous game was played Wednesday night inside Curry Arena.
 
Game Notes
QUEENS UNIVERSITY OF CHARLOTTE (17-13 overall; 7-10 ASUN)

• Queens enters Friday night averaging 79.5 points per game on 45 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent from behind the arc. The Royals are the league's leading scoring offense and hold a 1.104 offensive efficiency rating.
• On defense, the Royals are allowing 75.6 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and 36 percent from behind the arc.
• Queens is 7-8 in true road games this season, and 2-3 in their last five road contests.
• The ASUN leads all NCAA Conferences in three-point attempts this season with a combined 9,796 attempts. The Royals are averaging 26.9 three-pointers per game which is the third most in the league. Queens is sinking an average of 9.5 three-pointers per game.
• Queens has gotten to the free throw line the most in the ASUN and made the most free throws in the league. The Royals are top 50 in the nation in free throw attempts per game.
• Kenny Dye is the leader of the veteran Royals squad as the senior is averaging a team-high 17.5 points per game while hauling in 4.2 boards and dishing out 4.8 assists per game. The Royals are 112-33 when Dye is in the starting lineup as he is second in points per game and first in assists per game in the league. Dye is five assists away from tying the program record which was set by Donay Fullwood in 1991-95.
• AJ McKee has been a consistent producer this season as he has reached double figures in 29-of-30 games. The sophomore is averaging 18.2 points per game against league opponents which is second-best in the ASUN.
• BJ McLaurin has been a weapon for the Royals averaging 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game across 22.8 minutes. McLaurin turned in his first double-double as Royal, and 15^th of his collegiate career against Bellarmine last week and is coming off a career-high 19 points against Liberty.
• Jay'Den Turner is averaging 8.2 points and 7.1 rebounds this season. The junior is second in the league in rebounds per game as he has brought down double-digit boards in four of the last six games.
• The Royals are 42-8 in the last two seasons when outrebounding their opponent. This year, Queens is second in the ASUN in rebounds per game with 37.5 and second in the league in offensive boards per game with 11.4. Queens has posted double-digit offensive rebounds in 20 games this season, including 10 of their last 17 games.

 
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY (23-7 overall; 14-3 ASUN)

• Liberty enters Friday night 23-7 overall and 14-3 in league play. The Flames are 4-1 in their last five games as they sit in second place in the league standings.
• Liberty holds a 15-1 home record this season with their only loss coming to Southern Miss on November 18^th.
• Liberty is averaging 75.4 points per game on 48 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent from behind the arc. The Flames lead the league in field goal percentage and sit third in the nation in effective field goal percentage.
• On defense, Liberty is allowing 60.4 points per game on 41 percent shooting from the field and 34 percent shooting from the field. The Flames have the best-scoring defense in the ASUN and top 10 in the country.
• Liberty is led by the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, Darius McGhee. The senior is averaging a league-high 22.5 points per game on 45 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent shooting from behind the arc. McGhee has garnered ASUN Player of the Week honors four times this season as he is second in the country in scoring, three-point attempts, and three-pointers made.
• Preseason All-Conference recipient Kyle Rode is averaging 10.6 points and 3.9 assists per game.
• Ritchie McKay is in his 10^th season at the helm of the Flames program. Under his direction, Liberty is 222-111 overall. McKay has 21 years of head coaching experience with stops at New Mexico, Oregon State, Colorado State, and Portland State. McKay served as an assistant coach for the Royals under former Queens head coaching legend, Dale Layer.

 
Fans and families can purchase their tickets for Friday night's game by visiting the Liberty Athletics website. The game will tip off at 7:00 PM EST from Liberty Arena.

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.