WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University men's and women's basketball teams are set to begin home Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play Saturday afternoon with Stevens traveling to the Marts Center for the first time.  The women's game is slated to tip-off at 1:00 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 3:00 p.m.
 
Live Stats – (men)
Live Stats – (women)
Live Video – (both games)
 
Admission:
Adults - $5
Senior Citizens - $3
Students (valid ID) & Children - $2
Pre-school (under 6) with adult – Free
 
Men's Preview:
The Colonels opened MAC Freedom play with a 68-60 loss against Misericordia on the road.  The 60 points was the lowest points total in a single game for the Colonels offense this season.
 
The senior guard tandem of Rob Pecorelli (Huntington, NY/Harborfields) and Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) continue to lead the charge for the Colonels.  Pecorelli averages 18.4 points (good for 4th in the conference), 7.0 rebounds (7th), 2.7 three-pointers (5th) and 4.8 assists (1st).  Mullins meanwhile averages 17.4 points (6th), 7.3 rebounds (6th) and .558 field goal percentage (5th).
 
Sophomore forward Jake Robel (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) averages 6.2 rebounds (10th), 1.3 blocked shots (4th), .609 field goal percentage (2nd) and 1.6 steals (4th).  Junior forward Derek Heiserman (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) posted a season and career-high 12 rebounds against Misericorida Wednesday.
 
Wilkes leads the MAC Freedom with 82.6 ppg and sits at third in shooting percentage with .456.  The Colonels also have the most rebounds per game in the conference with 41.5.  
 
Stevens enters the Marts Center with a 10-2 record, receiving votes in the d3hoops.com poll, and sits at 1-0 in conference after defeating Delaware Valley 85-73 at home Wednesday.  The Ducks have played host to three ranked teams this season, falling to No. 4 Middlebury College 66-76 on December 8th, defeating No. 13 Johns Hopkins 72-65 on December 30th, and falling just short of No. 1 Swarthmore on January 5th 71-74.
 
Senior guard Spencer Cook leads the Ducks with 19.4 ppg (2nd).  He also shoots .477 from beyond the three-point arc (2nd) and averages 3.1 assists (7th).  Junior forward/center Alec DiPietrantonio averages 9.9 rebounds (2nd) and 2.3 blocked shots (1st) to lead the Ducks in both categories.  Freshman guard Matt Crowley leads the Ducks with 4.2 assists per game (4th).
 
The Ducks bring a conference-leading defense with them to the Marts Center, averaging 66.9 points allowed on defense (1st), holding opponents to .384 field goal percentage (1st) as well as only allowing .291 shooting beyond the arc (1st).  The Ducks also lead the conference with .382 shooting past the three-point line.
 
This is the first time the two squads have met in the live stats era.  
 
Women's Preview:
The Colonels opened MAC Freedom play with a 41-74 loss at Misericordia Wednesday night. 
 
The Colonels have put together a team effort on offense, with seven players scoring five or more points per game on the season.  Freshman Macy Berryman (Stroudsburg, PA/Pocono Mountain East) won the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III – North Rookie of the Month award for December.  She tied her career-high in points with 16 against Lycoming College on December 17th, and tied her career-high in rebounds with six that game, a high she had set earlier in December against Gwynedd Mercy University.
 
Junior Maddie Kelley (Dallas, PA/Dallas) leads the Colonels in both points with 7.4 and rebounds with 5.4 (14th).  Junior Vanessa Whitecavage (Shenandoah, PA/Marian Catholic) averages .431 field goal percentage (8th) per game.
 
The Colonels sit atop the MAC Freedom with 57.2 points allowed per game, while scoring 54.1 ppg (8th).
 
The Stevens women are 4-8 to start the season after snapping a three-game losing skid against Delaware Valley 70-43 on Wednesday night at home. 
 
Sophomore forward Jess Broad leads the Ducks in several categories.  She averages 13 points (9th), 6.7 rebounds (9th), and .448 field goal percentage (6th).  Junior guard Christina Li leads the Ducks attack beyond the arc, leading all Ducks with 28 three-pointers made (5th) and all Ducks with double-digit three-point attempts with .444 shooting beyond the arc (2nd).
 
The Stevens women lead the conference with .373 field goal percentage.  They average 59.1 points on offense (5th) and 68.5 points on defense (6th).
 
This is the first time the two squads have met in the live stats era.