CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Interstat) — Two ASUN Conference teams seeking momentum will meet on New Year’s Day when the Queens Royals host the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at Levine Center. The Thursday afternoon matchup features teams with similar early-season struggles. Eastern Kentucky enters at 4-9, while Queens sits at 5-8. Both are looking to build consistency ahead of the league schedule. The Colonels are led by guard Turner Buttry, who is averaging 11.2 points and 3.8 assists per game. He is coming off a 10-point, 5-rebound, 4-assist performance in a 57-88 loss at Wichita State on Dec. 21, Eastern Kentucky’s most recent game. Buttry had a season-high 19 points in a 62-59 win at Jacksonville State on Dec. 17. Queens counters with guard Nasir Mann, its leading scorer at 16.2 points per game. Mann scored 13 points in the Royals’ last outing, a 65-106 defeat at Auburn on Monday. He has shown high-scoring ability, posting 23 points against South Carolina State and 20 against Gardner-Webb earlier in December. Both teams have faced challenging non-conference slates. Eastern Kentucky’s four wins have come against Jacksonville State, Eastern Illinois, Indiana-East and Miami (Ohio). The Colonels have lost three straight, including the defeat at Wichita State. Queens has dropped three consecutive games, all on the road against high-major opponents Auburn, Arkansas and Wake Forest by an average margin of 38 points. The Royals are 4-1 at home this season, with the lone loss coming to UNC Greensboro. This game marks the conference opener for both programs. Eastern Kentucky will travel to face West Georgia on Saturday. Queens will remain at home to host Bellarmine on Saturday.