Wilkes Basketball Heads to Delaware Valley on Wednesday
WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University women's and men's basketball teams will travel to Doylestown to take on the Delaware Valley University Aggies on Wednesday evening in a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) doubleheader.
The women tip-off at 6:00 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 8:00 p.m. Live links are provided below for fans who are unable to attend the contests.
Live Stats – (women)
Live Stats – (men)
Video
The women's team enters this one with their playoff hopes still alive after beating King's 58-55 on Saturday to improve to 4-8 in the MAC Freedom and 8-15 overall. Wilkes is two games out of the final playoff spot with two conference games left as they need to win out and get some help to qualify for the MAC conference tournament. The Colonels are looking for the season sweep after handing the Aggies a 56-45 road loss on January 23rd.
Wilkes' leading scorer is Gab Giordano (Moscow, PA/Holy Cross) who is 13th in the conference at 12.8 ppg and is coming off a 21 point performance against King's. The senior is nearly averaging a double-double with 9.9 rebounds (third) while also sharing the ball for 3.5 assists (fifth). Maddie Kelley (Dallas, PA/Dallas) is again averaging double figures (10.2) after putting up 18 points on Saturday, thanks in part to three makes from long distance. Senior Ashley Caster (York, PA/Spring Grove) is a factor in the post for the Colonels as she averages 9.9 ppg (22nd) and 4.7 rebounds while sitting in a tie for second in the MAC Freedom in field goal percentage at 50.8%.
Wilkes is averaging 65.5 ppg this season while allowing 73.9
Delaware Valley has won two straight games after dominating FDU-Florham 94-64 on Saturday to also stay in the mix for the last playoff spot at 4-8 in the conference and 10-13 overall.
The Aggies are led by the veteran trio of Dom Moser, Ashley Smink and Danielle Skedzielewski, who are all averaging double figure points. Moser leads Delaware Valley in scoring at 15.3 ppg (sixth). The junior does it all for the green and gold as she also ranks inside the top ten in assists (fourth) and rebounds (sixth). Smink, another junior, is close behind Moser in MAC Freedom scoring with 14.5 ppg (ninth) due to being second in free throw percentage (85.7%) and seventh in three-point percentage (30.2%) while dishing out 2.5 helpers (T-10th). The senior Skedzielewski is tied for 19th in both scoring (10.5 ppg) and rebounds (5.4) while making 74.4% (seventh) of her free throws.
The Aggies trail the Colonels in scoring at 63.7 ppg while allowing 66.2 ppg.
The men's team is riding a four-game winning streak after lighting it up from the floor against King's on their way to a 76-51 victory on Saturday to improve to 16-7 overall. Wilkes clinched a playoff berth with the win but this is important game for seeding as both teams are tied for third at 8-4.
The Colonels offense is led by the quartet of Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley), Rob Pecorelli (Huntington, NY/Harborfields), Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) and Tommy Bowen (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin), all of whom rank inside the conference's top 12 in scoring.
Mullins and Pecorelli lead the Colonels in scoring at 15.9 ppg (T-4th). Mullins, a junior, also ranks inside the top five in field goal percentage (second) and free throw percentage (fourth) while snatching 6.8 rebounds (T-7th). Pecorelli, another junior, hits the glass for 6.4 boards (11th) and adds 1.6 steals on the defensive end (T-6th). Robinson is right behind his teammates in scoring at 15.3 ppg while making the extra pass for 3.7 dimes (T-3rd). The senior will usually guard the other team's best player and comes away with 2.0 steals for his efforts (T-2nd). Bowen scored 10 points against the Monarch's last time out to give him 10 double-digit point performances in 12 MAC Freedom contests, as he's 12th in the conference at 13.9 ppg. The senior is a presence on the block as he grabs 7.4 rebounds (fifth) while shooting at a 54.5% clip from the field.
In MAC Freedom action, Wilkes is second in the conference in scoring at 79.8 ppg and allows 74.3.
Delaware Valley also clinched a playoff spot on Saturday despite losing to FDU-Florham, 80-73, as they sit just above the .500 mark at 12-11. The Aggies won a high-scoring affair, 99-90, at the Marts Center on January 23rd.
The Aggies have four players in double-figures led by Lybrant Robinson at 15.1 ppg (ninth). The sophomore scored 22 on the Colonels in the last meeting. Delaware Valley's leading scorer for most of the season has been Damian Washington, who has registered double-digit points in all but three games this season and scored 26 against Wilkes in January. He currently sits in tenth in both points (14.9) and rebounds (6.5) in addition to making 35.3% of his shots from beyond the arc (seventh). Junior Mike Cianciulli is not far behind Washington, averaging 13.2 ppg (14th) and is shooting 42.2% from the floor (19th). Senior Alex Matsinye chips in 11.6 ppg (19th) while accumulating 6.1 boards (T-13th) and 1.3 steals (T-10th).
Aside from the 99-point performance against Wilkes, Delaware Valley averages the third fewest ppg in the MAC Freedom (73.9) while giving up a nearly identical 73.5 ppg to the opposition.
