WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University men's and women's basketball teams are set for their Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) openers Wednesday night as the Colonels host Lycoming College at the Marts Center. The men's game opens the night at 6:00 p.m. with the women following at 8:00 p.m.

Live Stats – (men)
Live Stats – (women)
Live Video – (both games)
 
Admission:
Adults - $5
Senior Citizens - $3
Students (valid ID) - $2
 
Men's Preview:
Wilkes enters the first conference contest with a 3-3 overall record and with a 1-1 record at the Marts Center this season. The Colonels defeated Marywood University 84-81 on the road in their last game before the Thanksgiving break.
 
Drake Marshall (Gainesville, VA/Patriot) leads the Colonels in scoring to start the year with 14.0 points-per-game (ppg) which is good for tenth in the MAC Freedom. Trent Fisher (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) is averaging 12.2 ppg as he is currently 15th in the conference. Cayden Merrifield (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) with 8.0 ppg and Jack Argento (Hershey, PA/Hershey) with 7.0 ppg are third and fourth on the team in scoring.
 
Fisher is tied for tenth in the conference with 7.2 rebounds-per-game (rpg) as he leads the Colonels. Marshall follows with 6.3 rpg which is 13th in the league. Joey Zvorsky (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) is averaging 5.2 rpg. Zvorsky and Merrifield are tied for the team lead and sixth in the MAC Freedom with 3.2 assists-per-game (apg).
 
Fisher is currently third in the conference with a .623 field goal percentage, fifth with 1.3 blocks-per-game (bpg), and ninth with 1.2 steals-per-game (spg). Matthew Davidheiser (Reading, PA/Exeter Township) leads Wilkes with a .400 three-point shooting percentage as he is 6-for-15 from behind the arc. Merrifield leads the Colonels with seven total threes and is seventh in the league with 1.3 spg.
 
Wilkes is seventh in the MAC Freedom in scoring offense with 64.2 ppg while ranking first in scoring defense at 62.5 ppg.
 
Lycoming enters also with a 3-3 overall record this season and the Warriors are 0-1 on the road, suffering a 72-42 loss at Drew University in their last game on Sunday.
 
Mo Terry leads the Warriors with 14.5 ppg which puts him eighth in the MAC Freedom. Steven Hamilton and Dyson Harward follow with 11.7 ppg and DeAundre Manual is also scoring in double figures with 10.7 ppg.
 
Harward with 9.5 and Manuel with 9.0 are fourth and fifth in the league currently in rebounding. Hamilton leads Lycoming with 2.8 apg.
 
Manuel ranks sixth in the conference with a .549 field goal percentage and Hamilton is currently second with a .538 three-point shooting percentage as he is 14-for-26 on the year. Harward is second in the MAC Freedom with 2.0 bpg and Terry is third with 1.5 spg.
 
Lycoming is fourth in the MAC Freedom scoring 72.7 ppg and the Warriors rank eighth in scoring defense with 70.0 ppg.
 
The Warriors lead the series 5-1 dating back to the 2009-10 season including two victories last year of the Colonels.
 
Women's Preview:
Wilkes begins MAC Freedom play with a 1-4 overall record and with a 0-4 record at the Marts Center. The Colonels lost 77-66 to Marywood in their last game on Monday.
 
Yamirelis Matos (Springfield, MA/Chicopee) leads the Colonels in scoring with 14.0 ppg which is tied for eighth in the MAC Freedom. Brianna Horton (Verona, NJ/Verona) is second on the team and 20th in the league with 8.8 ppg. Julia Marino (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) with 6.0 ppg and Erin Shober (Reading, PA/Wilson) with 5.8 are third and fourth in scoring for Wilkes.
 
Horton leads Wilkes with 6.0 rpg which is 17th in the conference. Matos follows with 5.6 rpg and Shober has 4.4. Marino and Matos are tied for the team lead with 2.6 apg which is tied for 12th in the league.
 
Horton leads the team with a .484 field goal percentage and leads the MAC Freedom with a .545 three-point percentage as she is 12-for-22 from behind the arc. Her 2.4 threes-per-game are third in the league. Shober is sixth in the conference with 1.0 bpg and Marino and Matos are tenth with 2.0 spg. Brenna Babcock (Sweet Valley, PA/Northwest Area) is second in the league with a .917 free-throw percentage as she is 11-for-12 from the line.
 
Wilkes is tied for sixth the MAC Freedom in scoring offense at 57.4 ppg and seventh is scoring defense at 67.6 ppg.
 
Lycoming enters with a 3-4 overall record to start the season and a 1-2 on the road. In the Warriors last game they lost 72-62 at Susquehanna University on Sunday.
 
Emily Lockard leads Lycoming in scoring with 12.4 ppg which is 12th in the conference. Meghan Difner follows with 10.0 ppg.
 
Lockard is the team leader in rebounding with 7.3 rpg which places her eighth in the league. Kenzie Reed follows with 6.4 rpg. Mya Wetzel is fifth in the MAC Freedom with 3.1 apg.
 
Lockard is third in the MAC Freedom with a .534 field goal percentage while Kami Abdo is fourth with a .387 three-point percentage. Reed is fourth with 1.6 bpg and Wetzel leads the team with 1.9 spg.
Lycoming is fifth in the MAC Freedom in scoring offense with 61.4 ppg and sixth in scoring defense at 62.7 ppg.
 
Lycoming leads the series 6-1 dating back to the 2008-09 season. The two teams split the two conference matchups last year with each team winning at home. Lycoming won 70-49 on January 12, 2022 and Wilkes won 55-48 on February 9, 2002.