WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University men's and women's basketball teams return home this week as they begin their Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) matchups this Wednesday as they host Misericordia University inside the Marts Center. The men's game starts off the action at 6:00 p.m. with the women playing 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 comes into the contest with a 8-6 overall record and 3-2 in MAC Freedom play. Wilkes enters this game winning two of their last three home contests. The Colonels got career-high in scoring from Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) and Cayden Merrifield (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) as they downed Arcadia University 76-70.
 
Drake Marshall (Gainesville, VA/Patriot) leads the Colonels in scoring to start the year with 13.6 points-per-game (ppg) which is tied for sixth in the MAC Freedom. Trent Fisher (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge), who has not played since December 7th, is averaging 11.2 ppg and Merrifield is scoring 11.1 ppg. Jack Argento (Hershey, PA/Hershey) and Joey Zvorsky (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) round out the Colonels scorers with 7.5 and 7.1 respectively.
 
Fisher is eighth in the conference with 6.6 rebounds-per-game (rpg) as he leads the Colonels. Marshall follows with 5.9 rpg which is 13th in the league. Merrifield is fifth in the conference with 3.5 assists-per-game (apg) while Zvorsky is tied for 11th with 2.8 apg.
 
Matthew Davidheiser (Reading, PA/Exeter Township) is currently the conference leader in three-point field goal percentage as he is shooting .467% (21-45). Merrifield is fifth in that category with .426 percent from beyond the arc with his 29 made three-pointers, good for third in the MAC Freedom. Fisher is second in the conference with a .611 field goal percentage and tied for sixth with 1.1 blocks-per-game (bpg). Merrifield is tied for fourth in the conference with 1.6 steals-per-game (spg) while Zvorsky is tied for ninth with 1.1 spg. Marshall is currently tied for fourth with a .833 (20-for-24) free throw percentage.
 
Wilkes is fourth in the MAC Freedom in scoring offense with 70.6 ppg while ranking first in scoring defense at 62.9 ppg which is tied for 28th overall out of 413 Division III teams currently.
 
Misericordia enters with a 7-6 overall record this season with a 2-3 conference record. The Cougars are 2-2 on the road this season, winning their last road matchup against Medgar Evers College. Misericordia won their conference matchup this past Saturday as they rolled over Delaware Valley University 80-71.
 
Kevin Lazdowsky leads Misericordia with 16.2 ppg, putting him second in the conference. Joseph Baldachino is second on the team with 13.8 ppg, making him seventh in the conference, while Nick Prociak is 11th in the MAC Freedom with 13.0 ppg. Nate Kreitzer and Nick Hornung round out the scoring with 9.8 ppg and 9.6 ppg respectively.
 
Prociak leads the Cougras and is ninth in the MAC Freedom with 6.2 rpg while Lazdowsky follows behind on the team and in conference with 6.1 rpg. Kreitzer is tied for third in the conference as he averages 3.6 apg as he has 47 assists on the season. Hornung is 10th in the MAC Freedom with 1.0 bpg while Joseph Baldachino leads the team with 0.9 spg.
 
Prociak and Hornung rank fifth and sixth in the conference in field goal percentage respectively, as Prociak holds a .542 % shooting while Hornung is .506 percent from the field. Derek Smith is fifth in the MAC Freedom with a .415 three-point percentage as he is 17-for-41 on the year. Kreitzer ranks second in free throw percentage with .897 as he is 35-for-39 on the season.
 
Misericordia is second in the MAC Freedom scoring 76.5 ppg and ninth in scoring defense with 74.7 ppg.
 
The Cougars hold a slight edge in the series as they lead 15-13 dating back to the 2008-2009, which include two victories last season for Misericordia.

Women's Preview:
Wilkes comes into the game with a 3-11 record on the season, holding a 2-3 conference record in the MAC Freedom this season. Wilkes comes back home with a 2-5 record, winning their last home contest this season against FDU-Florham. The Colonels dropped their conference matchup to Arcadia 71-60 over the weekend.
 
Yamirelis Matos (Springfield, MA/Chicopee) leads the Colonels in scoring with 10.5 ppg which is tied for 12th in the MAC Freedom. Brenna Babcock (Sweet Valley, PA/Northwest Area) is second on the team with 6.9 ppg and Brianna Horton (Verona, NJ/Verona) is third with 5.6 ppg.
 
Matos leads Wilkes with 5.2 rpg. Babcock is second with 4.4 rpg while Horton is third with 4.1. Julia Marino (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) is tied for second in the MAC Freedom with 2.9 apg, totaling 41 on the season.
 
Marino leads Wilkes with 29 steals, placing eighth in the conference with 2.2 steals-per-game (spg). Matos follows behind with 31 steals and is eighth in the MAC Freedom with 2.2 spg. Erin Shober (Reading, PA/Wilson) is seventh in the league with 1.2 bpg with 15 total blocks this season. Horton is ninth in the league as she averages 1.4 threes a game, making 19 on the season.
 
Wilkes is seventh in the MAC Freedom in scoring offense at 51.7 ppg and fifth in scoring defense at 59.7 ppg.
 
Misericordia is 9-5 on the season 2-3 in the MAC Freedom. Misericordia is 2-3 on the road this year. The Cougars dropped their home matchup and conference game to Delaware Valley 74-68 on Saturday.
 
Alyssa Bondi leads Misericordia with 13.8 ppg, placing her fifth in the conference. Scarlett Gianna Delfino is second on the team and 11th in the MAC Freedom with 10.6 ppg. Melina Sanracrice and Morgan Haefele are third and fourth on the team in scoring with 8.7 and 6.4 ppg respectively.
 
Delfinois third in the conference with 8.6 rpg while Santacroce follows behind as she is fourth in the MAC Freedom with 8.4 rpg. Delfino is also tied for second in the league with 2.9 apg, while being in second with 2.7 bpg and 3.1 spg.

 Bondi is tied for fourth in the conference with a .319 three-point percentage while shooting .371 from the field.

Misericordia is fourth in the MAC Freedom in scoring offense with 60.4 ppg and scoring defense at 53.6 ppg.
 
Misericordia leads the series 23-6 dating back to the 2008-2009 season and have won 13 of the last 14 matchups.