City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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It was an interesting two weeks in the local Division III landscape.

Several programs that had been up-and-down to start the season suddenly caught fire -- Franklin & Marshall, Delaware Valley, Eastern and others had terrific stretches over the last 14 days. And quite a few teams in the rankings lost at least a game or two during that same span.

But is that enough for any significant changes?

Here’s our updated regional Top 10, plus others teams to keep an eye on over the rest of the regular season:

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Others to Watch: Albright (7-11, 5-4 MAC Commonwealth), Arcadia (9-9, 4-5 MAC Commonwealth), Delaware Valley (10-7, 5-1 MAC Freedom), Dickinson (9-8, 6-4 Centennial), Eastern (10-7, 5-1 MAC Freedom), Immaculata (8-9, 6-4 CSAC), Muhlenberg (8-7, 4-6 Centennial), Rosemont (8-9, 6-4 CSAC), Ursinus (10-7, 7-3 Centennial), Widener (9-8, 4-5 MAC Commonwealth), York (11-6, 6-4 Capital)

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10. DeSales Bulldogs (4)
Record: 11-6 (3-3 MAC Freedom)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Manhattanville (W, 69-53), @ FDU-Florham (L, 72-67), vs. Wilkes (L, 78-74), @ Misericordia (L, 99-76)
Star Watch: Kuity Slanger (Sr./G) -- 11.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.9 apg

DeSales was on a roll, winning eight in a row from Dec. 7 to Jan. 11 -- and then the Bulldogs hit a wall, losing their last three heading into a trip to King’s College on Wednesday. Now two games back of both Eastern and Del-Val (January wins over those two programs are the only reason DeSales is ranked and one of them is not), Scott Coval’s group needs to bounce back in a big way, especially with a visit from Eastern coming on Saturday. And their issues seem to be changing from game-to-game: against Wilkes, it was 20 turnovers; Misericordia only forced 13 turns but shot better than 56 percent from the floor and was 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) from 3-point range.

Next Two Weeks: @ King’s (Jan. 25, 8 PM), vs. Eastern (Jan. 28, 3 PM), vs. Manhattanville (Feb. 1, 8 PM) FDU-Florham (Feb. 4, 3 PM)

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9. Lebanon Valley Dutchmen (8)
Record: 11-7 (5-4 MAC Commonwealth)
Last Two Weeks: @ Arcadia (W, 83-2), vs. Messiah (W, 82-63), vs. Alvernia (L, 60-59)
Star Watch: Sam Light (Jr./G) -- 21.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg

It was a heartbreaker of a loss for Lebanon Valley on Saturday, as Light was sent to the line with 0.2 seconds remaining down two points and made the first but missed the second. It was otherwise a solid two weeks for Light, who went for 25 points against Arcadia, 21 against Messiah and had 17 against Alvernia. Lebanon Valley is one of four teams in the MAC Commonwealth (Hood, Alvernia, Albright) that are three games behind leader Lycoming, and this is a key two weeks upcoming for the Dutchmen with games against Hood and Albright, plus a trip to a Widener squad that’s 4-5 but beat Alvernia last weekend. They could use more outings like the one Travis Conrad had against Arcadia, when the senior guard was 7-for-7 from 3 for 27 points.

Next Two Weeks: @ Stevenson (Jan. 25, 8 PM), vs. Hood (Jan. 28, 2 PM), @ Widener (Feb. 1, 8 PM), @ Albright (Feb. 4, 4 PM)

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8. Alvernia Crusaders (7)
Record: 11-7 (5-4 MAC Commonwealth)
Last Two Weeks: @ Widener (L, 73-64), vs. Stevenson (L, 79-71), @ Albright (W, 70-63), @ Lebanon Valley (W, 60-59)
Star Watch: Marquis Marshall (Sr./F) -- 21.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg

Just when you think Alvernia is hitting a skid, like when the Crusaders lost to Widener and then somehow to a Stevenson squad that previously didn’t have a win in conference, they bounce back to win two very tough road games at Albright and Lebanon Valley. None of Alvernia’s losses have come by double digits, which is a positive sign, but only one win has come by 20 points or more, with most played in the single-digit range. Now’s a great time to turn things around, though, with four consecutive home games giving the Crusaders quite an unusual advantage that this point in the season. Alvernia will be looking for a measure of revenge against Hood after the Blazers won the first matchup, 76-73 back in November.

Next Two Weeks: vs. Hood (Jan. 25, 8 PM), vs. Lycoming (Feb. 1, 8 PM), vs. Messiah (Feb. 4, 3 PM)

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7. Moravian Greyhounds (Last Week: 9)
Record: 11-6 (4-2 Landmark)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Drew (W, 81-64), @ Catholic (L, 89-84 OT), @ Scranton (W, 78-64), vs. Juniata (W, 99-97 2OT)
Star Watch: Jimmy Murray (Soph./G) -- 12.9 ppg, .429 3PT

None of Moravian’s five D-III losses (they also count one against Lafayette) have come against teams with fewer than eight wins, and their last three losses have come to Cabrini, Susquehanna and a 13-win Catholic U squad. Though the Greyhounds get good production from their seniors, notably Brandon McGuire (17.2 ppg, 10.3 rpg), the future of Justin Potts’ program is in the bevy of sophomores and freshmen -- there are no juniors on the roster. Murray, a 6-0 guard from Plymouth-Whitemarsh, is starting to bring his high-scoring ability to the college stage, as he showed with a 33-point outburst in the loss to Catholic.

Next Two Weeks: vs. Goucher (Jan. 25, 7 PM), vs. Susquehanna (Jan. 28, 4 PM), vs. Scranton (Feb. 1, 7 PM), @ Elizabethtown (Feb. 4, 4 PM)

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6. Franklin & Marshall Diplomats (OTW)
Record: 12-5 (6-4 Centennial)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Muhlenberg (W, 93-46), vs. Washington (W, 84-72), @ Swarthmore (W, 83-66), vs. Dickinson (W, 100-90 OT), vs. Haverford (W, 64-57)
Star Watch: Brandon Federici (Jr./G) -- 20.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg

The No. 2 team in our preseason rankings, the Diplomats fell all the way out of the rankings after losing three of their first seven games of the year, but they’ve since rebounded and a strong two weeks propels them right back into the thick of things. Sophomore wing J.C. McGrath had a strong few games, including going for 16 points and 11 rebounds against Washington and 30 points, nine rebounds against Swarthmore, but Federici dropped 33 against Dickinson, 22 against Haverford and 21 against Swat. Toughest game over the next two weeks is undoubtedly the trip to Ursinus, as the Bears were one of the first two teams left out of the poll and sit just one game back of first in the Centennial race.

Next Two Weeks: @ Gettysburg (Jan. 26, 8 PM), vs. McDaniel (Jan. 28, 3 PM), @ Ursinus (Feb. 1, 7 PM), @ Muhlenberg (Feb. 4, 4 PM)

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5. Gwynedd-Mercy Griffins (5)
Record: 14-3 (8-2 CSAC)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Cabrini (L, 75-70), @ Centenary (W, 82-69), @ Rosemont (W, 90-88), @ Immaculata (W, 91-84), vs. Centenary (W, 84-72)
Star Watch: Cedric Elleby (Sr./F) -- 18.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg

Gwynedd Mercy’s three losses this season have come to Cabrini, Neumann and Susquehanna -- three teams with a combined record of 43-7, and three of the four teams ahead of the Griffins in this poll. They’ve had to win some tight ones of late, including scoring the final five points at Rosemont to top the Ravens on a Ty Jones shot with 0.7 seconds remaining. Elleby got his season averages into double-double territory thanks to some monster efforts of late: 24 points, 17 rebounds against Immaculata and 21 points, 15 rebounds against Centenary...oh, and 24 points, 13 rebounds against Rosemont. Sophomore Courtney Cubbage also deserves mention for his 24-point, 16-rebound effort in the Cabrini loss.

Next Two Weeks: @ Marywood (Jan. 25, 8 PM), @ Neumann (Jan. 28, 3 PM), vs. Cairn (Feb. 1, 8 PM), vs. Rosemont (Feb. 4, 3 PM)

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4. Cabrini Cavaliers (6)
Record: 12-4 (8-1 CSAC)
Last Two Weeks: @ Gwynedd-Mercy (W, 75-70), vs. Clarks Summit (W, 86-60), @ Keystone (W, 101-93, @ Cairn (W, 74-65), vs. Marywood (W, 85-67)
Star Watch: DeVahnte Mosley (Jr./F) -- 14.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg

The Cavaliers look like they’re hitting their stride, winning 10 of their last 11 against Division III competition, including five in a row (and one postponement) since a Jan. 5 loss to Neumann. Due to that postponement, they get Centenary (9-7, 5-4) twice in the span of five days, first at home in Radnor and then over in New Jersey on Saturday. Throw in two road games at Immaculata and Rosemont, both 6-4 in CSAC play, and it certainly won’t be a walk in the park for head coach Tim McDonald. Mosley, a Bard transfer who missed the first month of the season due to injury, is really hitting his stride lately, going for 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting against Keystone, and has scored in double figures in five straight.

Next Two Weeks: vs. Centenary (Jan. 23, 7 PM), @ Immaculata (Jan. 25, 8 PM), @ Centenary (Jan. 28, 4 PM), @ Rosemont (Feb. 1, 8 PM), vs. Keystone (Feb. 4, 1 PM)

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3. Swarthmore Garnet (3)
Record: 14-3 (8-2 Centennial)
Last Two Weeks: vs. McDaniel (W, 65-60 OT), @ Johns Hopkins (L, 70-52), vs. Franklin & Marshall (L, 83-66), vs. Haverford (W, 89-68), @ Dickinson (W, 66-53)
Star Watch: Cam Wiley (Soph./G) -- 15.6 ppg, 4.4

Swat’s spot atop the Centennial Conference was challenged last week when the Garnet dropped games to both Johns Hopkins and F&M, but a necessary home win over Haverford and nice road win over Dickinson made sure they stayed a game up on Hopkins after 10 league games. These next two weeks see Swarthmore playfour teams currently in the bottom five in the standings, but if they take any of these opponents lightly, they’ll end up with their third league loss. We’ve mentioned Wiley, a 6-0 Atlanta native, several times in this poll before; he continued his breakout sophomore season with a career-high 26 points in the win over Haverford.

Next Two Weeks: @ Washington (Jan. 26, 8 PM), vs. Gettysburg (Jan. 28, 3 PM), vs. Muhlenberg (Feb. 1, 8 PM), @ McDaniel (Feb. 4, 3 PM)

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2. Susquehanna River Hawks (2)
Record: 15-2 (5-1 Landmark)
Last Two Weeks: vs. Scranton (L, 76-68), vs. Elizabethtown (W, 73-61), @ Juniata (W, 74-59), @ Drew (W, 81-75)
Star Watch: Jason Dietrich (Sr./G) -- 7.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg

The Scranton loss ended a 12-game win streak for the River Hawks, who’d lost their season opener to Misericordia and hadn’t since. But three other wins kept the No. 14 team in the country right on Neumann’s heels, though it’s a tough week ahead at Landmark co-leader Catholic (13-4, 5-1) and then Moravian; two games that will either solidify Susquehanna in the front-runner spot or drop them right back into the mix with a group of four teams that also includes Scranton (12-5, 4-2). Dietrich certainly outplayed his season average these last two weeks, going for 19 points and 11 rebounds against Scranton plus 12 points, six rebounds and four assists against Drew; he beat his season scoring average in all four games.

Next Two Weeks: @ Catholic (Jan. 25, 7 PM), @ Moravian (Jan. 28, 4 PM), vs. Juniata (Feb. 1, 7 PM), vs. Goucher (Feb. 4, 4 PM)

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1. Neumann Knights (1)
Record: 16-1 (10-0 CSAC)
Last Two Weeks: @ Rutgers-Camden (L, 68-67), @ Immaculata (W, 92-79), vs. Centenary (W, 95-56), vs. Rosemont (W, 85-83 OT), vs. Clarks Summit (W, 87-47)
Star Watch: DeShawn Lowman (Sr./G) -- 18.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg

The Knights took their first ding of the season at Rutgers-Camden, but bounced back with four straight wins to stay on the top spot for now, though the gap between them and Susquehanna has closed considerably. It doesn’t help that senior forward James Butler (19.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg) is no longer with the team, which puts extra pressure on Lowman and Tyaire Hudson (12.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg) to produce at a consistently stellar level. They’ll need more outings from junior sharpshooter Billy Cassidy like the one he had against Centenary, when he dropped eight 3-pointers en route to a season-high 28 points. Big-time home game against Gwynedd-Mercy on Friday.

Next Two Weeks: @ Keystone (Jan. 25, 8 PM), vs Gwynedd-Mercy (Jan. 28, 3 PM), vs. Immaculata (Feb. 1, 8 PM), @ Centenary (Jan. 4, 4 PM)