AEC Preview | Men's Basketball Looks To Carry Momentum in Semis

Marywood captured its first conference postseason win

Scranton, Pa. — Third-seeded Marywood University will travel to Gwynedd Valley, Pa. to take on Gwynedd Mercy University in the Atlantic East Conference Semifinals. The Pacers will take on No. 2 Gwynedd Mercy at 7 p.m. at Gwynedd Mercy University Complex, and it will be aired on the Atlantic East Network.

The Pacers are coming off their first Atlantic East Conference playoff win beating No. 6 Cabrini University. Marywood was nearly perfect from the line, making 94.7 percent of its attempts. The Pacers missed just one of their 19 shots. For the game, Marywood finished with a 46.4 percent mark from the field and collected 35 rebounds. The Pacers won by a 12 point margin.

Wednesday's game against Gwynedd Mercy will be the second time the two foes match-up in Atlantic East Conference playoffs.

Gwynedd Mercy (16-9, 9-3 AEC) makes its fifth AEC postseason appearance.

SERIES HISTORY: Dating back to the 2007-08 season, the Pacers hold a 4-29 record against the Griffins. Marywood last beat Gwynedd Mercy in 2019 with a 84-69 victory. On average the Pacers score 68.45 points per game against the Griffins. The road record for Marywood is 1-16.

LAST MEETING: Marywood and Gwynedd Mercy squared on a cold Valentine's Day night ultimately falling to the Griffins 91-74. Mason Mendygral finished with a team-high 18 points on an 8 of 14 shooting performance. Both Collin Himmelberg and Brendan Franko each provided 17-point performances. Trevor Seitz contributed seven points and six assists. Cole Johnson had nine rebounds.

The Griffins shot 48.4 percent from the field and connected on 34.6 percent of its 3-point attempts. They were particularly effective from the charity stripe, making 87 percent (20 for 23) of its shots. Meanwhile, Marywood made just 13 of 20 from the line for a 65 percent clip. The Pacers shot 45 percent from the field and struggled from long range to the tune of 25.9 percent.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFINS: As the team's playmakers, Aziz Parker averages 13.9 points and JoHaan Vinson puts up 13.8 points per game. The duo each average 5.3 boards per game.

Gwynedd Mercy opened up the season with an overtime loss to fifth ranked Mount Union 89-82. In conference play, the Griffins have suffered three losses this season, two to No. 1 Marymount University and one to No. 4 Neumann University.

The Griffins average 81.6 points per game, 16.5 assists per game, and 39.6 boards per game.

SCOUTING THE PACERS: Brendan Franko has had a breakout season averaging 14.0 points per game. The back-to-back Atlantic East Player of the Week (2/12,2/19) averaged 20.5 points per game in that span and collected 16 boards.

The team as a whole averages 78.5 points per game, 16.8 assists per game, and 35.5 boards per game.

In the opening round of Atlantic East Conference tournament play versus Cabrini, Trevor Seitz had the hot hand with 23 points. Seitz went 7 of 14 from the field. Defensively, he finished with a team-high 19 plus-minute rating. Collin Himmelberg tallied 14 points. Mason Mendygral, Austin Bausman, and Franko each finished with 11 points. Bausman was a rebound shy of a double-double.

Marywood in the early season won both games in the Electric City Classic, 106-90 and 107-75. The Pacers also handed Marymount their first conference loss of the season with a score of 71-68.

Tonight's game will have live stream and statistics available on the Marywood Athletics website.

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Players Mentioned

#21 Brendan Franko: G; 6' 2"; Junior

#33 Cole Johnson: F; 6' 5"; Senior

#10 Mason Mendygral: G; 5' 11"; Junior

#04 Trevor Seitz: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#24 Austin Bausman: G; 6' 4"; Freshman

#12 Collin Himmelberg: G; 6' 4"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#21 Brendan Franko
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G

#33 Cole Johnson
: 6' 5"; Senior
: F

#10 Mason Mendygral
: 5' 11"; Junior
: G

#04 Trevor Seitz
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#24 Austin Bausman
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: G

#12 Collin Himmelberg
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: G