How did the Pacers’ Men’s Basketball team start off their season?

Vincent Goldschmidt, Sports Editor • December 8, 2023

Following a disappointing end to head coach Jon Showers’ first year at the helm, the Pacers came into the new season with high expectations. Marywood was among the top teams in Division III in three-pointers made per game and assists per game. The Pacers stayed true to their identity in their opening bout against Clarks Summit, as they collected 20 assists while draining 11 threes in a nail-biting 77-74 victory. Pacers’ guard Brendan Franko kicked his season off scorching, dropping 23 points in the win.

Following the victory, the Pacers headed downtown for the University of Scranton’s Opening Weekend Tournament. The Pacers’ Achilles’ heel was exposed in the two-day event, as they dropped both games allowing a combined 196 points. Despite the defensive struggles, Franko’s presence offensively didn’t waver, as he produced a 17-point game against Farmingdale State before dropping a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double against FDU-Florham.

Marywood returned home to host its home opener against Keystone College, who just about a year prior fought the Pacers in the most exhilarating game of the season, concluding with a game-winning, buzzer-beating three from Pacers’ guard Trevor Seitz. Seitz held momentum from last year’s matchup as he drained five three-point attempts, while Franko produced his second 20+ point performance of the season, as the Pacers fought off Keystone 90-86.

After the home opening victory, the Pacers hosted the Electric City Classic, looking to repeat as champions. There was no lack of offense from the Pacers, who exceeded 105 points in both victories. After their 106-90 win over Central Pennsylvania, the Pacers tied their record of 20 successful three-pointers against SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. This was the same team the Pacers originally set the record against nearly a decade ago. Marywood defeated SUNY-ESF 107-75 en route to being crowned Electric City Classic champions.

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The Pacers returned to the road for their final two games of the month, beginning with Wilkes University. The team left its offense behind in the Insalaco Arena, as the Pacers failed to produce a double-digit point scorer, ending their three game win streak with a 75-58 loss. The offensive lull ended quickly as the guard duo of Seitz and Brandon Reed both produced 17 points as they completed the month with a victory over Mount Saint Mary’s College 89-85.

Coach Showers improved his November record, finishing 5-3 on the month. The Pacers scoring was led by Franko and Seitz, with fellow guards Reed and Andrew Quinn producing a handful of quality scoring performances, as well as Mason Mendygral, despite an inefficient month from the junior guard. Marywood remained among the top three-point making and assisting teams in Division III.

All stats are from MarywoodPacers.com and NCAA.com as of Dec. 5.

Contact the writer: [email protected]

About the Contributors

Vincent Goldschmidt, Editor In Chief/Sports Editor

Vincent Goldschmidt is a junior Multimedia Communications Major, on the track of Sports Media, and is the Editor In Chief and Sports Editor for The Wood Word. Along with his Wood Word work, he hosts a sports talk show, He Knows Ball, on VMFM 91.7, serves as the Sports Director and a Sports Anchor for TV-Marywood, and the lead play-by-play broadcaster for Marywood's Emmy nominated sports broadcasts.

Emma Bernatowicz, Staff Photographer

Emma Bernatowicz is a junior multimedia communications: journalism major. She is from just outside of Philly and has three older siblings. She loves to write and edit any paper that comes across her desk and enjoys doing photography, which is something she picked up from her oldest brother.