LYCOMING MEN’S BASKETBALL SET TO HOST WILKES IN FREEDOM CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. –     The Lycoming College men’s basketball team will host Wilkes University, Saturday afternoon, for the Freedom Conference Championship. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. The winner of the contest will earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and $2 for students. Children under six years of age will be admitted for free. This is a Middle Atlantic Corporation event, so no passes can be accepted.

Lycoming entered the Freedom Conference tournament as the number three seed with a regular-season conference mark of 10-4 and knocked off number-two seed King’s College, Wednesday evening, 74-63. The Colonels earned the fourth seed for the conference playoffs with a league record of 9-5 and upset number-one seed DeSales University, 66-50, also on Wednesday evening.

Wilkes enters the title game with an overall record of 18-8, having won six of their last seven outings, including a 71-68 victory over the Warriors on February 17.

The Colonels are led by their backcourt trio of seniors Dave Plisko (Sugar Notch, Pa.; Hanover) and Mike Morgan (Taylor, Pa.; Riverside), and junior John Yanniello (Old Forge, Pa.; Old Forge). Plisko, a first-team all-conference selection, leads Wilkes in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game. He has connected on 46 three-pointers this season, but can also drive to the hoop. Morgan leads the team in triples with 76 three-pointers on the year and a 12.4 points-per-game average. Yanniello chips in 10.3 points per game, while also leading the team with 61 assists in 26 games.

In the paint, the Colonels will look to sophomore Evan Walters. Walters is scoring 5.6 points per game and grabbing 4.9 rebounds per game. He also leads the team and the conference in blocked shots with 58 on the season.

Wilkes can also expect contributions from junior Ryan Milford (Ashley, Pa.; Hanover) and sophomores Rashawn Pressley (Harrisburg, Pa.; Susquehanna Twp.) and Mike Constantine (Binghamton, N.Y.; Binghamton). Milford gives the Colonels another option inside, averaging 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Pressley is another talented perimeter player who can drive to the hoop or pull up for a jumper. He was the Colonels’ leading scorer with 20 points in their semifinal victory at DeSales. Constantine is a solid ball handler who can direct the offense and is a threat from beyond the arc. He is also an excellent perimeter defender.

Lycoming sports an overall record of 19-7 entering tonight’s contest. The Warriors stumbled a bit down the stretch, dropping two of their final three regular season games, but are 12-2 at home this season, including a perfect 7-0 versus conference opponents.

Lycoming presents a balanced inside-outside attack led by seniors Matt Stackhouse (Hughesville, Pa.; Hughesville) and L.J. Huggler (St. Marys, Pa.; St. Marys), and sophomore Jonathan Pribble (Woolrich, Pa.; Central Mountain).

In the paint Stackhouse and Huggler have been the most dominant duo in the conference. Stackhouse, who missed 10 games this season with an injury, is averaging 17.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. He also leads the team with 31 blocked shots in 16 games. Huggler contributes 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. In the 10 games Stackhouse missed, Huggler stepped up his play even more averaging 20 points per game during that stretch. Both players were named to the All-Freedom Conference second-team.

Pribble, a first-team selection, complements the Warriors’ inside presence with a smooth stroke from the perimeter. Pribble leads Lycoming in scoring, averaging 18.8 points per game. He has knocked down a team-high 75 three-pointers this season, shooting 42% from beyond the arc. He also pulls down 5.9 rebounds per game and has handed out 50 assists.

Junior Shaun Morris (Camp Hill, Pa.; Trinity) and sophomore Brad Musser (Mifflinburg, Pa.; Mifflinburg) make up the Warrior backcourt. Morris leads the conference in assists with 139 in 25 games, while also chipping in 8.3 points per game. Musser is Lycoming’s best ball handler and has recorded 104 assists to go along with 5.1 points per game.

Off the bench, junior center Jeremiah Edison (Mifflinburg, Pa.; Mifflinburg) and sophomore guard Curtis Mays (Philadelphia, Pa.; University City) have provided valuable minutes at both ends of the floor. Edison gives the team another strong presence in the paint with 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Mays chips in 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while leading the team in steals with 28. Also likely to see time off the bench are junior Nick Myers (Shamokin, Pa.; Shamokin) and sophomore Patrick Baylor (Broomall, Pa.; Cardinal O’Hara).

The Warriors and Colonels have already met twice this season, with each team holding serve on their own court. In their first meeting in Lamade Gymnasium, Lycoming built an 11-point halftime lead and never looked back, eventually posting a 72-59 victory. The Warriors out-rebounded Wilkes 49-29 in the game.

In the second meeting just 11 days ago in Wilkes-Barre, the Colonels rallied from a five-point deficit with two minutes to play to steal a 71-68 victory that secured their spot in the playoffs and knocked Lycoming out of first place. Wilkes forced the Warriors to turn the ball over 21 times in the game.