Mountain Lions to open season at No. 16 Queens (N.C.) Friday

The Young Harris College men's basketball team will open their 2021-22 season Friday (Nov. 12) when they travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a 5 p.m. contest against No. 16 Queens University of Charlotte.

"I am excited about the upcoming season as we experienced an abbreviated schedule last year, with our season ending abruptly," said Young Harris head coach Jeremy Currier. "I am thankful for the effort our player have put into improving every day, and their commitment to being a great teammate and building our culture. Playing with relentless effort, caring about their teammates, and focusing on playing true team basketball will be our focus throughout this year. 

"We have a challenging slate of games with 13 games against either nationally ranked teams, or teams that are receiving votes in the national polls,' added Currier. "We are facing the preseason favorite to win the SAC (South Atlantic Conference), the Conference Carolinas, the SIAC (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). Of course the Peach Belt is once again one of the best basketball leagues in Division II basketball. Our young team will need to mature quickly, and continue to grow and improve together.

INSIDE THE SCHEDULE:

• The 28-game schedule, includes 14 games inside the friendly confines of the YHC Recreation and Fitness Center where the Mountain Lions have a .657 winning percentage (88-46).
• The Mountain Lions will have 11 games this season against teams ranked in the preseason National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II Top 25 poll or receiving votes. YHC opens the season against No. 16 Queens (N.C.) before facing No. 2 Flagler College twice in the Peach Belt Conference.Young Harris will also have two games each against Morehouse College, Augusta University and Georgia Southwestern State University in 2021-22 and will also face Emmanuel (Ga.) College once. All of those teams were receiving votes in the NABC poll.
• The Mountain Lions have two new opponents - Morehouse and either Florida Tech or Morris College- this season on their schedule. Young Harris will face the Maroon Tigers in its home opener Nov. 17 before facing them in Atlanta, Georgia, Dec. 4 as a part of the Arthur J. McAfee Classic.
• YHC opens the season on the road at the Southeast Region Classic this weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Curry Center on the Queens (N.C.) campus. The Mountain Lions will face a pair of SAC opponents as they face No. 16 Queens Friday (Nov. 12) and Lenoir-Rhyne University Saturday (Nov. 14). Young Harris is 0-2 all time against each opponent.
• After the home opener, the Mountain Lions will host Shorter University Nov. 23. The series between the Mountain Lions and the Hawks is tied at 2.
• After Thanksgiving, YHC will travel to Melbourne, Florida, to take part in the Florida Tech Thanksgiving Tournament. The Mountain Lions will face the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon in the opener Nov. 26 before facing either tournament host Florida Tech or Morris College on the final day of the tournament Nov. 27. UPRB has one the only meeting with Young Harris.
• YHC will play an exhibition against Clinton College Dec. 5 as a part of the Morehouse tournament, before playing host to Emmanuel (Ga,) Dec. 8. The Lions won the only time they faces Young Harris.
• The Mountain Lions will open their Peach Belt schedule with a rood encounter against Georgia College in Milledgeville, Georgia, Dec. 15. The Bobcats hold a 9-8 lead in the all-time series.
• Young Harris will host Anderson (S.C.) University in the Rec Center Dec. 18. YHC holds a 3-1 lead in the series with the Trojans.
• The Mountain Lions travel to St. Augustine, Florida, Dec. 20 for their final game before the Christmas break when they face No. 2 Flagler. Young Harris holds an 8-3 lead in the series against the Saints.
• Young Harris will travel to Salisbury, North Carolina, Jan. 2 for its final non-conference game when they face Catawba College. The Catawba Indians have won both the previous meetings with YHC.
• The Mountain Lions will play three of the next four games at home. They will face Clayton State University Jan. 5, Columbus State University Jan. 12, and Flagler Jan. 15 at home, while they will travel to Augusta, Georgia, to face Augusta Jan. 8. Young Harris holds a 12-4 advantage in the series with Clayton State and an 11-7 edge against Columbus State. Augusta hosts a 10-4 lead against the Mountain Lions.
• The Mountain Lions will travel to Americus, Georgia, Jan. 17 for a game against Georgia Southwestern State before hosting Georgia College Jan. 19. A road game against the University of South Carolina-Aiken is slotted for Jan. 22 before Young Harris hosts its Blood Mountain rival University of North Georgia Jan. 26 and the return game against Georgia Southwestern State Jan. 29. The series with USC Aiken is tied at 6, while the Mountain Lions are staked to a 15-7 lead in the series against UNG.
• The Mountain Lions return to the road for games at Lander University Feb. 2 and Clayton State Feb. 5 before home contests against Columbus State Feb. 9 and Augusta Feb. 12. Lander holds a 9-6 advantage in the series with YHC.
• The last road game of the season is Feb. 16 when they travel to Dahlonega, Georgia, to face North Georgia,before wrapping up the regular season at home against USC Aiken Feb. 19 and Lander Feb. 23.
• The Peach Belt Tournament will be held the first week in March with the top eight teams advancing. The quarterfinals will be played at the higher seeds March 1. The semifinals March 4 and finals March 5 will be played at the highest remaining seed.