BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball will hit the road for a Saturday afternoon showdown in Boiling Springs against Gardner-Webb. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. from Paul Porter Arena and the game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus. The Royals will look to carry over the momentum from their two-game winning streak which includes a road win at VMI last weekend.
 
GAMEDAY GUIDE VS. GARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITY
Date: Saturday, December 14, 2024
Time: 2:00 PM
Location: Paul Porter Arena (Boiling Springs, N.C.)
Watch (ESPN Plus)
Stats (Statbroadcast)
Queens Game Notes
Tickets

THE MATCHUP
Queens and Gardner-Webb will square off for the sixth time since 1992 with the Royals holding a 3-2 advantage. The two programs that are separated by 47 miles met for the first time last year in the Queen City since 1995. The Royals emerged victorious 83-80 as BJ McLaurin buried a game-winner from downtown with less than a second left on the clock. All five meetings have been tightly contested with the margin of victory being eight points.
 
SCOUTING THE ROYALS (5-5 overall, 0-0 ASUN)

• Queens is coming off a dominant 91-53 victory over Carolina University on Tuesday night. Senior Jaxon Pollard turned in his second career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Freshmen DJ Shine and Maban Jabriel stepped up and turned in season highs. Shine netted 13 points while Jabriel added 11 points and seven rebounds.
• The Royals are finding their rhythm offensively shooting 47 percent from the field over the last five games. This comes after Queens opened the season going 36 percent from the floor through the opening five outings.
• Queens can score quickly and sits 4-0 this season, and 24-10 in Division 1 when reaching 80 points.
• Sharpshooter Chris Ashby became the sixth player in program history to drain 200 career three-pointers. The Houston, Texas native is sixth all-time in three-pointers made and leads the Royals in scoring this season with 11.3 points per game.
• Malcolm Wilson has been a key player to watch this season as the graduate student is averaging a nation-best 4.4 blocks per game. Wilson became the fourth NCAA Division 1 men's basketball player since 2014 to block 34+ shots before December 1^st.
• Senior Jaxon Pollard has rounded into form lately as the Utah native has reached double figures in three straight games. During that span, Pollard is averaging 12.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
• Queens has a trio of freshmen talent in Yoav Berman, Maban Jabriel, and DJ Shine. All three rookies have appeared in at least eight games and are combining to average 16.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
• In their third season in Division 1, the Royals have not backed away from any competition playing the 137^th hardest schedule in the country. Four of those opponents, including Utah, BYU, Winthrop, and Mercer rank top 50 in the nation in scoring offense.
• Queens ranks fourth in the ASUN in assists as Bryce Cash is top 10 in the league in assists per game with 3.7. The Charlotte native is adding 5.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
• The Royals lead the league in blocked shots averaging 5.6 per contest. The mark is tied for 14^th in Division 1 men's basketball with Auburn, Florida, LSU, Portland State, and Tennessee.
• The free throw line has been a challenge for the Royals this season as Queens is shooting 59 percent from the stripe, the third lowest percentage by any team in Division 1. Despite the struggles, the Royals are attempting the second-most free throws in the ASUN.

 
SCOUTING THE RUNNIN' BULLDOGS (4-6 overall, 0-0 Big South)

• Gardner-Webb enters Saturday afternoon 4-6 overall and looking to snap a three-game losing skid. The Runnin' Bulldogs have fallen at Belmont and Wofford before dropping their recent home outing against North Carolina Central.
• Jeremy Luther is in his first season at the helm of the Runnin' Bulldogs program. Luther was on staff for 11 seasons as an assistant coach where he helped the program reach their first NCAA Division 1 men's basketball tournament in 2018-19.
• Over the last five seasons, Gardner-Webb is 36-17 inside Paul Porter Arena.
• Despite being last in scoring offense in the Big South, the Runnin' Bulldogs are efficient connecting on 47 percent of their attempts from the field, a mark that is third in the league and top 100 in the country.
• Gardner-Webb ranks 79th in the nation in adjusted tempo according to KenPom.
• The Runnin' Bulldogs are outrebounding opponents by 3.2 per game, however, they are only bringing down 35.6 per game.
• Anthony Selden leads the offense with 16.6 points per game on 49 percent shooting from the field. The 6-6 guard has poured in 20+ points in three games this season, including 29 points against Bethune-Cookman.
• 6-10 forward Isaiah Richards is a player to watch off the bench. The Brooklyn native recorded a double-double against Belmont and is averaging 6.0 points and 7.7 rebounds across 23.2 minutes off the bench.
• Gardner-Webb was picked to finish sixth in the Big South Preseason Poll following a 17-16 campaign last season.

 
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