Otterbein’s Cameron Sparks defends University of Scranton’s Elizabeth Bennett during the NCAA Division III second round game at the University of Scranton in Scranton on Saturday, March 07, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Otterbein’s Cameron Sparks defends University of Scranton’s Elizabeth Bennett during the NCAA Division III second round game at the University of Scranton in Scranton on Saturday, March 07, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Talk about a challenging start to the season.
Both the University of Scranton and Marywood University men’s basketball teams open this weekend with games against defending NCAA Division III champion University of Mary Washington as part of the Hilton Scranton Invitational at the John Long Center. On Friday, Marywood plays Mary Washington at 7:30 p.m. after Scranton renews its rivalry with Widener University at 5:30 p.m. Then Saturday, the Pacers play Widener at 2 p.m., followed by the Royals and Eagles at 4 p.m.
Mary Washington was 30-3 last season and beat Emory in the national championship game, 75-73, on a putback by Colin Mitchell at the buzzer. Mitchell is one of 13 players back this season, including four starters. The Eagles are the preseason No. 1 in the d3hoops.com Top 25 men’s poll.
“All we’ve talked about is, ‘Let’s get Widener taken care of on Friday, then we can move on to Mary Washington,’” said Royals coach Carl Danzig, who begins his 26th season. “Obviously Mary Washington is very good and they’ve got everybody back. They’re going to be in the national scene again. It’s going to be a great game, they’re really good. It will be a great challenge.”
Danzig put together a daunting schedule for his team. In December, the Royals will play in the inaugural DIII Champions Classic in Virginia, a two-day event that brings together four programs with a combined 98 NCAA tournament appearances and five national championships. Scranton will face Christopher Newport on Dec. 28 and Randolph-Macon College on Dec. 29. Babson College is also in the field.
“We have a really difficult schedule, probably harder than we’ve had in quite some time,” Danzig said. “But I feel really good about this group. We’re going to suffer some losses, but I think we’re a lot about ourselves. We’re going to grow and it’s going to make us better when we get into our tough conference play.”
Scranton is picked third in the Landmark Conference preseason poll. The Royals come off a 19-7 season that saw them lose in the first round of the conference playoffs to eventual champion Susquehanna University. Eleven players who saw action last season are back, including four starters, led by junior Sammy Tornabene (17.8 points), a second-team Landmark Conference all-star, and sophomore Ben Robinson, the Landmark Rookie of the Year last season. However, Tornabene is injured to start the season. That paves the way for sophomore Matt Lyons, a Holy Cross grad and transfer from Arcadia University, to start.
Also, junior and Abington Heights graduate Will Marion will take over at point guard for the graduated Jon Spatola.
“This is a great bunch,” Danzig said. “Guys have stepped up and younger guys will get some early opportunities they wouldn’t normally see. We have 11 returning players, so we have a lot of guys who have played. We have a lot of experience. We have some capable guys who are going to fill some roles for us, so I’m really pleased.”
Meanwhile, Marywood returns six players who saw action last season, led by junior Joe Macciocco (12.7 points), an Old Forge graduate, and junior Ty Cheney. Coach Jon Showers enters his fifth season with the Pacers, who were 13-13 overall last season and lost in the first round of the Atlantic East Conference playoffs. This season is their first in the MAC Freedom Conference. They were tabbed ninth in the preseason coaches poll.
Keystone College also begins its season Friday night at the Nazareth University Mike Daley Memorial Tournament. It faces the host school in the 8 p.m. semifinal, they play Saturday in either the consolation game at 2 p.m. or championship game at 4 p.m. against either SUNY-Canton or Muhlenberg. The Giants, led by second-year coach Justin Stern, have four key returning players, including starters senior Ahmodrion Jones (13.2 points) and junior and Scranton High grad P.J. Murphy (12.6 points). Keystone was 8-19 last year, 4-9 in the United East Conference, and lost in the conference quarterfinals. The Giants rank seventh in the United East preseason poll.
Lackawanna College, in its first season at NCAA Division II, opens Nov. 13 against Bryant & Stratton College-Rochester. The rest of the Falcons’ schedule is comprised of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opponents.
Women
Kaitlyn Lewis makes her debut as University of Scranton women’s basketball coach Monday when the Lady Royals open their season at Misericordia University at 7 p.m. The former North Pocono and American University standout takes over for Ben O’Brien, who left for Lafayette College. Lewis was an assistant coach at Scranton from 2019-22.
She inherits a team that went a program-record 32-1 and lost in the NCAA Division III championship game to Denison University, 55-41. Fourteen players who saw action last season are back, including two starters and the first two players off the bench. Senior Elizabeth Bennett (12.0 points) was a second-team Landmark Conference all-star and is a d3hoops.com fifth-team preseason All-American. Seniors Katie Gorski (11.1 points) and Mehgan Lamanna (10.6 points) also were Landmark second-team selections. Sophomore and Dunmore grad Sophia Talutto was Landmark Rookie of the Year.
The Lady Royals won their 11th straight Landmark title last season and are first in this season’s conference preseason poll. They also are No. 3 in the d3hoops.com preseason Top 25.
Marywood opens its season Friday at 5 p.m. at the Widener University Tip-Off Tournament against the host school. Centenary and Salisbury are also in the field. Last season, the Pacers were 14-13 overall, 8-6 in the Atlantic East, and reached the conference final before losing to Immaculata. This season, the Pacers are in the MAC Freedom Conference and selected to finish ninth in the preseason poll. Coach Tara Macciocco begins her 21st season and has senior Anyah Ortiz (10.7 points) as the lone returning starter.
Shania Iglesias takes over as coach at Keystone. The Lady Giants open Saturday at home against Penn State Hazleton at 1 p.m. Last season, they were 4-20 overall and are tabbed to finish 12th in the United East Conference preseason poll.
Like the men’s team, the Lackawanna College women are in their first season at the NCAA Division II level. They open Monday at Roberts Wesleyan University. Then after home-and-home games against Queens College, the Lady Falcons face PSAC opponents the rest of the season.