OPENING TIP
Score: Eastern Kentucky 84 | Queens 80
Records: Eastern Kentucky (17-9 overall, 10-3 ASUN) | Queens (16-10 overall, 6-7 ASUN)
Location: Curry Arena (Charlotte, N.C.)
 
The Short Story: The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team dropped a Thursday night showdown with Eastern Kentucky University by a final score of 84-80.

BY THE NUMBERS
-AJ McKee reached double figures for the 26^th consecutive game with a 27-point performance. McKee drained 4-of-6 shots from behind the arc as he finished one-point shy of his season-high.
-Jay'Den Turner notched his second straight double-double with an 11-point and 10-rebound effort.
-Senior Kenny Dye poured in 21 points on a 7-of-12 mark from the field while also bringing down five rebounds. Dye swiped four steals marking a new season-best.
-Kalib Mathews scored seven points while matching his season-high with five assists.
-The visiting Colonels controlled the block scoring 58 points in the paint, the most by a Royals opponent this season.
-EKU won the battle on the boards 40-33, including a 21-13 advantage in the second half.
-Queens shot a season-low 20 percent from behind the arc in the loss.

NOTABLE MOMENTS
-Queens opened the evening on a 20-9 run shooting 75 percent during that span.
-Trailing 48-42 in the second half, EKU would use a 9-1 run to grab their first lead since their first bucket of the game.
-Leading 66-65 in the second half, the Colonels used an 8-0 run to grab their largest lead of the game at nine.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-The 27-point performance from McKee marked the 13^th time this season that he has scored 15 or more points in a game.
-The last Royal to post back-to-back double-doubles was Gavin Rains in the first two games of the season.
-Kenny Dye moved up to second on the Queens all-time scoring list with 1,773 career points. The Jacksonville, N.C. native is just 38 points away from breaking the scoring record set by Reginald Hopkins from 2007-11.
-The Royals loss dropped them to 9-2 this season, and 35-3 in the last two seasons when leading at the break.

NEXT UP
The Royals will welcome Bellarmine University on Saturday, February 11^th inside Curry Arena for a Homecoming showdown with the Knights. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN Plus. Fans can secure their tickets in advance by visiting the Queens Athletics website. Be sure to check out Queens Athletics for more information on the Homecoming festivities.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow Queens Men's Basketball on Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok for news and updates throughout the season. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media to stay up to date on all the Royals sports in action.