#2 Wilkes Men's Basketball Hosts #3 Eastern in MAC Freedom Semifinals on Thursday
WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University men's basketball team will welcome the Eastern University Eagles to the Marts Center on Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. for a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) semifinal contest.
Ticket prices set by the MAC office are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $2 for students (with ID) and children under six-years-old are free.
Live links are provided below for fans who are unable to attend the contests.
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The Colonels finished the regular season with a 17-8 overall record and 9-5 in the MAC Freedom, holding the tiebreaker over Eastern, to earn the second seed in the conference tournament and host a home playoff game. This is Wilkes third conference tournament berth in the past four seasons but it hasn't met Eastern in the postseason since 2012 when they defeated the Eagles 103-98 in overtime to advance to the MAC Freedom Championship.
Wilkes split the season series with Eastern taking the first game at home, 94-74, on January 12th before falling to the Eagles in St. Davids, Pa., 79-69, on January 26th.
The Colonels lead the MAC Freedom in scoring against conference foes at 80.0 points per game (ppg) while also pacing the league in free throw percentage (79.7%). On the defensive end, Wilkes holds MAC Freedom opponents to the lowest three-point percentage at 30.2%.
The Wilkes attack is led by the quartet of Rob Pecorelli (Huntington, NY/Harborfields), Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley), 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.
Pecorelli leads the Colonels in scoring with 16.5 ppg which ranks third in the conference. The junior hits the glass for 6.1 boards (T-11th) and adds 1.6 steals on the defensive end (T-6th). Pecorelli is a 42.4% shooter from the floor (18th) but thrives from three-point land as he sits in fifth at 36.6%. The guard is also skilled at getting to the free throw line as he's inside the top 15 in the MAC Freedom in free throw attempts while making them at an 84.8% clip (third).
Mullins is right behind Pecorelli in fourth at 16.0 ppg thanks to ranking second in field goal percentage (55.6%) and fifth in free throw percentage (82.2%). The junior crashes the boards for 7.0 rebounds per game (T-6th) and has recorded three double-doubles this season.
Robinson sits a couple spots behind his teammates in sixth at 15.6 ppg. The senior leads the conference in made three-pointers per game at 2.8 and makes 34.5% of his shots from beyond the arc (11th). Robinson is a jack of all trades for the navy and gold as he is second in steals (2.0) and third in assists (3.8) while pulling down 4.8 rebounds (19th). Bowen is 12th in scoring at 13.7 ppg due to shooting 53.9% from the field (fourth). The senior is fifth in rebounding at 7.4 rpg and has recorded seven double-doubles this season.
Eastern finished the regular season 15-10 overall and 9-5 in the conference but lost the tiebreaker to Wilkes because they dropped both of their contests to Delaware Valley while the Colonels split their meetings against the Aggies. The Eagles rank first in the MAC Freedom in rebounds per game (42.9) and rebounding margin (6.6), as the Colonels sit in second in both categories.
Darius Washington is the Eagles high-scorer at 15.8 ppg (fifth) and trails Robinson in made three-pointers per game with 2.7. The senior gets to the line frequently as he is tied for 11th in free throw attempts and ranks 13th in free throw percentage at 70.6%.
Michael Bowlers is 11th in scoring at 14.0 ppg while ranking second in rebounds (8.9) and third in field goal percentage (53.9%). Senior guard Austin Duncan rounds out the trio with 12.2 ppg (18th) thanks to shooting 34.8% from beyond the arc (ninth).
A Colonels win would advance them to the championship game for the first time since 2016 where they would play the winner of #1 DeSales and #4 Delaware Valley on Saturday.
