WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes University men's and women's basketball teams continue down the homestretch of their seasons, with both teams taking on the Susquehanna University River Hawks Wednesday night.

The men's game is at the Marts Center with a scheduled start time of 7 p.m., while the women's team travels to Selinsgrove for their game at 7 p.m. as well.

Men's: Live Stats | Live Video

Women's: Live Stats | Live Video

Men's Preview

The Colonels enter this game with a 12-7 record (7-5 Landmark) after a 68-62 come-from-behind win against Catholic on Saturday. 

In that game, Wilkes led 15-6 at the 11:58 mark of the first half, but Catholic rallied to take a 33-28 lead into halftime. They held that lead for most of the second half, leading by 10 (56-46) with 6:47 left to play. However, the Colonels ended the game on a 22-6 run to steal the win thanks to clutch shot-making and lights out defense. The Cardinals went over six minutes without a field goal, and four minutes without a point down the stretch.

Colin Ackerman (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) was Wilkes' leading scorer with 17 points, three rebounds, and three assists on 5-10 shooting from the field and 6-7 shooting from the free throw line. Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) finished the game with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Jack Argento (Hershey, PA/Hershey) finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Lastly, Eli Becker (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds on 5-9 shooting.

In addition to great play from the starting lineup, the Colonels did a phenomenal job defending Catholic's top-scoring duo of Brian Herbert and CJ Ruoff. Herbert scored 13 points on 5-12 shooting and fouled out with 3:58 remaining, while Ruoff finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and five assists on 5-18 shooting. 

The strides made on the defensive end have allowed the Colonels to rise to third in the Landmark in scoring defense (70.9 points per game allowed), second in opponent field goal percentage (41.4%), and first in team rebounding (40.2). Meanwhile, the team's offense ranks fifth in scoring (75.4 points per game), fourth in field goal percentage (45.4%), and second in free throw percentage (75.1%).

On the other side, the River Hawks enter this game with a 9-10 record (5-7 Landmark) after a 77-71 loss to Moravian on Saturday. Susquehanna led 11-4 after four minutes, but lost their lead midway through the first half and never got it back. They trailed by eight at halftime (42-34), and the Greyhounds kept them at arms-length throughout the second half.

Logan Rhoades led Susquehanna in scoring with 15 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Among starters, Jackson Van Wagener finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and three assists on 3-11 shooting, while Audric Washington finished with 14 points and eight rebounds on 6-13 shooting.

The team's leading scorer is Mario Castro Sanchez, averaging 13.8 points per game on 42.1% shooting in the 12 games he's played in. Brandon Lavitt isn't far behind, averaging 10.6 points per game on 48.6% shooting while leading the team in rebounds (6.0 per game).

In terms of conference ranks, Susquehanna is eighth in scoring offense, fifth in scoring defense, ninth in field goal percentage, eighth in opponent field goal percentage, fourth in team rebounding, and ninth in assist/turnover ratio.

The River Hawks won the first matchup between these two teams 75-72 on Dec. 3. Castro Sanchez led the way for Susquehanna with 25 points and four rebounds on 7-11 shooting, including 4-6 from beyond the arc. For Wilkes, Becker finished 18 points on a perfect 7-7 shooting, and Argento scored 17 points on 6-9 shooting, but it wasn't enough.

Women's Preview

The Colonels enter this game with a 4-15 record (1-11 Landmark) after a 68-40 loss to Catholic on Saturday.

In that game, Delaney Bogdan (Long Valley, NJ/Mendham) led the team in scoring with nine points off the bench in just 14 minutes. Anya Richet (Plymouth, PA/Wyoming Valley West) was right behind her with eight points, eight rebounds, and two blocks on 4-8 shooting.

Yamirelis Matos (Springfield, MA/Chicopee) and Maliyah Warren (Phoenixville, PA/Phoenixville) remain top 10 scorers in the Landmark. Matos ranks seventh averaging 11.7 points per game on 31% shooting, and Warren ranks 10th with 10.9 points per game on 34.6% shooting. 

In the Landmark, the Colonels rank sixth in scoring defense (63.2 points per game allowed), second in opponent field goal percentage (33.1%), third in team rebounding (40.8), and fourth in blocked shots (66).

Meanwhile, the River Hawks enter this game with a 16-3 record (9-3 Landmark) after a 69-58 win over Moravian. Susquehanna trailed 27-24 at halftime, but responded with a huge third quarter to take the lead back and hold on for the win.

Julia Pinkert led the way for Susquehanna with 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals on 7-15 shooting from the field. Carly George stepped up with 16 points and seven rebounds on 8-16 shooting, and Julia Roth finished with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds on 5-12 shooting.

Roth ranks third in the Landmark in scoring and first in rebounds with averages of 14.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game on 46.6% shooting. George is the team's second-leading scorer with 10.8 points per game, but also ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding (7.5) and second in field goal percentage (50.6%). Lastly, Pinkert averages 10.4 points per game and ranks seventh in the conference in field goal percentage (46.8%) and second in assists per game (3.9).

As a team, the River Hawks are the Landmark's second-best scoring offense, third-best scoring defense, rank second in field goal percentage, third in opponent field goal percentage, second in three-point percentage, first in rebounding, and second in assist/turnover ratio.

They won the first matchup against Wilkes 72-46 on Dec. 3 with four players scoring in double figures. As for the Colonels, Warren finished with 15 points and six rebounds, while Matos finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and three assists.