WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes University men's and women's basketball teams play another double-header this Saturday at the Marts Center. This time they'll be playing the Elizabethtown College Blue Jays.

The men's game begins at 2 p.m. followed by the women's game at 4 p.m.

Men's: Live Stats | Live Video

Women's: Live Stats | Live Video

Men's Preview

The Colonels enter this game against the Blue Jays with a 7-5 overall record and 2-3 record in conference play after a much-needed win on Wednesday against Juniata 67-43. After a sloppy first half from both teams, Wilkes' offense hit their stride in the second half by outscoring the Eagles 41-25. They also played great defense all game as Juniata shot just 23.3% from the field, 19% (4-21) from beyond the arc, and committed 12 turnovers.

Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) led the team in scoring with 14 points on 3-11 shooting and 6-7 from the free throw line, and was one of four Colonels to score in double-digits. Daniel Santaniello (Roaring Brook Twp., PA/Scranton Prep) (11) and Eli Becker (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) (10) were the other two starters to score in double figures, and Antonio Brittain (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) had a great game off the bench with 11 points and five rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench. 

The team's starting five remains strong with every player averaging over 11 points per game, and many find themselves near the top of the Landmark in other categories. Lesko (7.9), Becker (6.2), and Jack Argento (Hershey, PA/Hershey) (6.0) are all in the top 10 in rebounds per game, and Becker sits at fifth in the conference in field goal percentage (56.0%). Lastly, Colin Ackerman (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) ranks fifth in the conference in assists per game with 3.8.

As a result, the team still ranks sixth in scoring offense and second in total rebounding, but has risen to sixth in team field goal percentage and fourth in opponent field goal percentage.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays enter this game with a 10-2 overall record and 3-2 record in Landmark play after a 74-62 loss to Scranton on Wednesday. In that game, Elizabethtown fell behind 31-21 with 3:35 remaining in the first half, but fought back to tie the game 42-42 with 13:12 left in the second half. However, Scranton responded with a 16-5 down the stretch to put the game away.

The Blue Jays are led by senior guard Austin Finarelli, who ranks second in the conference in pointers per game with 21.3. In the game against the Royals, he scored a season-high 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds on 13-22 shooting, 5-8 shooting from three, and committed just one turnover.

Behind Finarelli is a talented core of players such as Zuri Harris, Woody Machado, and EJ Finney. Harris is Elizabethtown's second leading scorer with 15.6 points per game as the team's best three-point shooter (43.2%). Machado averages 10.6 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game, ranking fourth in the conference in rebounds. Lastly, Finney is fourth in the conference with 4.3 assists per game, while averaging 9.5 points per game.

As a team, the Blue Jays rank fourth in the Landmark in scoring offense (81.2 points per game), seventh in field goal percentage (44.9%), third in opponent field goal percentage (41.5%), fifth in total rebounding (38.2 per game), and first in turnover margin (5.58).

Women's Preview

The Colonels enter this game with a 3-9 overall record and a 0-5 conference record after a 53-51 loss to Juniata on Wednesday. Wilkes led for most of the game but Juniata scored the final seven points of the game to steal the win. 

Maliyah Warren (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) was the team's only double-digit scorer with 19 points and eight rebounds on 8-18 shooting. That performance elevated her to fifth in the Landmark in scoring with an average of 13.3 points per game. 

However, Yamirelis Matos (Springfield, MA/Chicopee) remains the team's leading scorer with 13.8 points per game, which ranks her fourth in the Landmark in that category. Both players are also top 10 in the conference in rebounds per game, with Warren and Matos each tied at ninth with 6.8 per game.

The Colonels rank as the second best rebounding team in the Landmark, third best in opponent field goal percentage, and sixth best scoring defense.

The Blue Jays enter this game with an 8-4 overall record and a 4-1 record in the Landmark after a 59-50 loss to No. 2 Scranton on Wednesday. In a hard-fought defensive battle, Elizabethtown was tied with Scranton (20-20) at halftime, but lost the third quarter 22-7 and weren't able to recover.

The Blue Jays have four players averaging over 10 points per game, Makenna Mummert (15.4), Kamryn Mengel (12.7), Allyia Kennedy (12.3), and Cadence Anderson (10.0). All rank within the conference's top 20 in terms of scoring average, with three of them inside the top 15 in terms of field goal percentage. 

Kennedy is currently one of the best rebounders in the conference as well, ranking eighth with an average of 7.3 per game. Other conference leaders include Ella Gordon, averaging 3.5 assists per game, and Ellie Fasick with 17 steals this season. 

Overall, the team is currently receiving votes in the d3hoops.com poll, and ranks fourth in the Landmark in scoring offense (67.4 points per game), third in field goal percentage (43.3%), second in three-point percentage (30.9%), eighth in team rebounding (39.0 per game), and fifth in assists/turnover ratio (0.78).