WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes University men's and women's basketball teams take the court on Wednesday, Jan. 21 for a crucial conference matchup against the University of Scranton Royals at the Marts Center.

The men's game begins at 6 p.m., followed by the women's game at 8 p.m.

Men's: Live Stats | Live Video

Women's: Live Stats | Live Video

Men's Preview

The Colonels enter this game with an overall record of 9-6 and 4-4 record in Landmark Conference play after defeating Goucher 70-56 on Saturday. Wilkes led by just one point (27-26) at halftime, but dominated the second half by outscoring the Gophers 43-30 to secure a comfortable win.

In that game both Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) and Colin Ackerman (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) led the team in scoring with 16 points each on an identical 6-11 shooting from the field. They both got help from Eli Becker (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) (14) and Daniel Santaniello (Roaring Brook Twp., PA/Scranton Prep) (12), who both had double-digit games, and the team as a whole had their best shooting game from beyond the arc (41.2%).

The entire starting five continues to average over 10 points per game, with Lesko (15.7), Santaniello (14.8), and Becker (14.5) all ranking top 15 in the conference for points per game. The team also boasts three players in the conference's top 10 in rebounds per game with Lesko ranking third, Becker ranking seventh, and Jack Argento (Hershey, PA/Hershey) ranking eighth. Lastly, two Colonels rank in the top 10 in conference field goal percentage, with Becker ranking third (56.8%) and Argento ranking ninth (50.4%)

In terms of team ranks, Wilkes is sixth in the conference in scoring offense, fourth in scoring defense, fourth in team field goal percentage, third in opponent field goal percentage, eighth in three-point percentage, second in free throw percentage, and second in rebounding.

The Royals enter this game ranked No. 21 in the country in the D3hoops.com poll with a 14-1 record and 7-1 record in conference play after a huge 71-68 win over Catholic on Saturday. Scranton fell behind early and trailed 28-19 at halftime, but they flipped the script in the second half with an offensive explosion. They won the second half 52-40, shot a blazing 59.1% from the field and 71.4% from three, and hit 21 of their 23 free throw attempts.

Brendon Carr led the way for the Royals with 20 points and seven rebounds on 5-11 shooting, including 5-7 shooting from downtown. Jon Spatola was right behind him with 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists on 4-9 shooting, including 9-10 shooting from the free throw line.

Those two rank second and third on the team in scoring behind sophomore forward Sammy Tornabene. Tornabene leads the team in scoring (18.8 per game) and rebounding (7.3 per game) on 54.5% shooting from the field and 46.2% from beyond the arc. That ranks him fifth in the Landmark in points per game, fourth in rebounds per game, and sixth in field goal percentage.

The team as a whole is one of the best the Landmark has to offer right now as they rank fifth in scoring offense, first in scoring defense, first in field goal percentage, first in three-point percentage, first in free throw percentage, first in assist/turnover ratio, and third in assists.

Women's Preview

Wilkes enters this game with a 4-11 record and 1-7 record in conference play after their first conference win of the season over Goucher on Saturday 51-45. The Colonels dominated the first half as they took the lead midway through the first and never gave it up. They led 14-10 after the first quarter and 29-15 at halftime, which was too big for the Gophers to climb out of.

Yamirelis Matos (Springfield, MA/Chicopee) was the driving force for Wilkes as she scored 18 points and grabbed four rebounds on 6-11 shooting. She also got a boost from Anya Richet (Plymouth, PA/Wyoming Valley West) and Charlotte Taylor (Somerville, NJ/Somerville). Richet played a season-high 31 minutes against Goucher, scoring seven points and grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds. Meanwhile, Taylor played well off the bench with nine and four steals.

Matos ranks fifth in the conference in scoring with 13.3 points per game, and Maliyah Warren (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) isn't too far behind at ninth with 11.8 points per game. Both players are also tied for the team lead in rebounds at 6.1 per game, with Matos also leading the team in assists (36) and steals (30).

As a team, Wilkes ranks ninth in the conference in scoring offense, seventh in scoring defense, third in opponent field goal percentage, second in team rebounding, and fourth in blocks.

On the other side, Scranton enters this game ranked No. 2 in the country in the D3hoops.com poll with a perfect 15-0 record and 8-0 record in Landmark play. In their last game they defeated Catholic 71-41 at home on Saturday. In that game, the Cardinals kept in close as it was 29-22 at halftime, but the Royals dominated the third quarter 21-4 and turned a close game into a blowout.

Senior guard Kaci Kranson posted a double-double in the win with 18 points and 13 rebounds on 8-17 shooting in the win, followed by Katie Gorski with 13 points, three rebounds, and four assists.

Kranson and Gorski are just two of the four players that average over 10 points per game. Kranson ranks first in the conference in points per game (16.5), Gorski ranks eighth (12.0), and both Meghan Lamanna and Elizabeth Bennet average 10.2 points per game. In addition to that, Gorski ranks first in the Landmark field goal percentage (52.9%), Lamanna ranks first in three-point percentage (42.6%), and Kaeli Romanowski ranks first in steals (3.2 per game) and second in assists (3.7 per game).

Overall, the team ranks first in scoring offense and scoring defense, first in field goal percentage, second in opponent field goal percentage, second in three-point percentage, second in free throw percentage, first in turnover margin, first in blocks, first in steals, and first in assists.