WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University men's and women's basketball teams will begin the second half of Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) action as they begin the second matchup between teams in the conference. The Colonels will begin that on Thursday night as they travel on the road to take on Lycoming College inside Lamade Gymnasium after the game's were postponed from Wednesday due to the winter storm. 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 comes into the contest with a 10-7 overall record and 5-3 in MAC Freedom play. Wilkes also enters the game going 4-4 on the road this season, winning their last two away games. The Colonels won 72-53 over King's College, seeing three players score 14 points on the night. Wilkes played Lycoming on November 30, defeating the Warriors 78-44 inside the Marts Center.

Drake Marshall (Gainesville, VA/Patriot) leads the Colonels in scoring to start the year with 13.1 points-per-game (ppg) which puts him ninth in the MAC Freedom. Cayden Merrifield (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) follows behind with 11.1 ppg. Trent Fisher (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge), who played his second game last Wednesday since December 7th, is averaging 11.0 ppg. Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) and Matthew Davidheiser (Reading, PA/Exeter Township) round out the Colonels scorers with 9.4 and 7.5 respectively.

Fisher is seventh in the conference with 6.9 rebounds-per-game (rpg) as he leads the Colonels. Marshall follows with 5.8 rpg which is 12th in the league. Merrifield is tied for second in the conference with 3.6 assists-per-game (apg) while Zvorsky is tied for 10th with 2.9 apg.

Matthew Davidheiser is currently shooting 46.0% in three-point field goals, which leads the MAC Freedom conference. Merrifield holds fifth place in the conference in three-point field goal percentage with 41.8% from beyond the arc, making 35 three-pointers on the year. Fisher is third in the conference with a .582 field goal percentage and fifth with 1.4 blocks-per-game (bpg). Merrifield is sixth in the conference with 1.5 steals-per-game (spg) while Zvorsky is tied for seventh with 1.4 spg.   
Wilkes is third in the MAC Freedom in scoring offense with 71.2 ppg while ranking second in scoring defense at 63.4 ppg, which is 29th overall out of 413 Division III teams currently.

Lycoming enters with a 11-7 overall record this season with a 6-3 conference record. The Warriors are 7-3 at home this season, winning four out of their last five home contests. Lycoming lost on a buzzer beater shot to Arcadia University 61-59 last Saturday.

Dyson Howard leads Lycoming with 12.7 ppg, which would be good for 11th in the MAC Freedom. Mo Terry is second on the team with 11.8 ppg, putting him at 13th in the conference while his teammate Steven Hamilton is 15th with 11.6 ppg  DeAundre Manuel and Isaiah Valentine round out the scoring with 9.8 ppg and 7.7 ppg respectively.

Howard is third in the MAC Freedom with 8.8 rpg while Howard follows behind on the team and in the conference at fourth with 8.2 rpg. Hamilton is ninth in MAC Freedom with 3.1 apg as he has 55 assists on the season. Howard also is placed second in the conference with 2.0 bpg while Terry is tied for fourth with 1.7 spg.

Manuel is ranked fourth in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 55.4%. Hamilton places himself at second in the MAC Freedom with a .437 three-point percentage as he is 45-for-103 on the year.   
Lycoming is fifth in the MAC Freedom scoring 71.1 ppg and scoring defense with 67.8 ppg.

The Warriors hold a 5-2 lead over Wilkes since the 2009-10 season.

Women's Preview: 
Wilkes comes into the game with a 4-13 record on the season, holding a 3-5 conference record in the MAC Freedom this season. Wilkes is 1-6 on the road this year, losing their last one against King's 64-43 last Wednesday. The Colonels hosted the Warriors on November 30, taking a 58-51 victory over Lycoming.

Yamirelis Matos leads the Colonels in scoring with 10.1 ppg which is tied for 12th in the MAC Freedom. Brenna Babcock (Sweet Valley, PA/Northwest Area) is second on the team with 7.0 ppg and Brianna Horton (Verona, NJ/Verona) is third with 5.9 ppg.

Matos leads Wilkes with 4.9 rpg. Babcock is second with 4.2 rpg while Horton is third with 3.9. Julia Marino (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) is second in the MAC Freedom with 3.0 apg, totaling 51 on the season.

Marino leads Wilkes with 35 steals, tied for eighth in the conference with 2.1 spg. Matos follows behind with 31 steals and is 11th in the MAC Freedom with 1.9 spg. Erin Shober is tied for sixth in the league with 1.2 bpg with 19 total blocks this season. 
Babcock leads the Colonels with a 40.4 field goal percentage while Brianna Horton (Verona, NJ/Verona) is tied eighth in the conference with 1.3 threes-per-game, shooting .339 from beyond the arc.

Wilkes is seventh in the MAC Freedom in scoring offense at 52.1 ppg and sixth in scoring defense at 58.9 ppg.

Lycoming is 5-13 on the season and 1-8 in the MAC Freedom. The Warriors are 2-5 at home this year, losing their last four home matchups. They lost their last matchup against Arcadia 63-54.

Emily Lockard leads Lycoming with 9.9 ppg, tied for ninth in the conference. Ashley Yoh is second on the team with 9.3 ppg. Meghan Dufner and Mya Wetzel are third and fourth on the team in scoring with 8.5 and 6.6 ppg respectively.

Lockard is seventh in the MAC Freedom with 7.3 rpg while Kenzie Reed is 15th in the conference with 5.9 rpg. Dufner is tied for 12th in the conference with 2.3 apg as she has 41 on the year. Wetzel is 13th in the MAC Freedom with 1.8 spg while Reed is tied for seventh as she averages 1.2 bpg.

Lockard is fourth in the MAC Freedom with  48.2 field goal percentage while Yoh follows behind on the team and in conference as she is fifth with 47.5% on the field. Wetzel is fifth in the MAC Freedom in three-point field goal percentage as she averages .268%, making 33-of-123 from beyond the arc.

Lycoming is sixth in the MAC Freedom in scoring offense with 56.6 ppg and seventh in scoring defense at 62.1 ppg.

Lycoming leads the series 6-2 dating back to the 2008-09 season.