On Saturday evening, Eastern University Men's Basketball will travel to Widener University for the MAC Commonwealth Championship Game. It will be the third league championship appearance in the last four full seasons for an Eastern program that had never before made an appearance in a league final.

The host and top-seeded Pride are currently No. 13 in the nation and are seeking to become the first team to repeat atop the MAC Commonwealth since Lycoming won in 2017. The Warriors, now in the Landmark Conference, are the only program with more than one MAC Commonwealth Men's Basketball Championship over the past ten seasons. When Widener beat Alvernia, 74-69, last year, the Pride became the sixth different program to claim the title in a six-year stretch. Even more remarkable, the past four MAC Commonwealth Championship games have involved eight different programs.

This year, however, is different. The two programs both feature several players with Championship game experience. Eastern lost, 75-71 to Hood in 2022.

Widener will match any college basketball team in the country for experience. The Pride has run out the same starting five for 25 of 26 games this year. Kevin Schenk, a senior with 84 career appearances is the only undergraduate student in the group. The other four starters have amassed 430 games. The top three reserves off Widener's bench are all in their fourth or fifth year of playing.

The Eagles, while younger, are not without experience. Kaeshawn Ward and Jaron Fairweather are both 1000 point scorers and Arkese Claiborne, Eljay Morris, and Kevin Reeves all saw time in the 2021 mini season.
Widener swept the season series. The Pride jumped out to quick starts in both match-ups. While the Eagles made runs, they were never able to close the gap and put the Pride under late-game pressure. Widener controlled the boards and limited the Eastern shooters in both games. The Eagles will need to find ways to get second-chance points and keep the Pride off the 3-point line to create a meaningful late-game situation.

The Pride have only been in two games decided by two or fewer possessions this year. They earned a three-point win over Carthage and a four-point victory against Wooster. Widener is 13-0 at home this season and has won eight consecutive games overall. In their three losses, the Pride shot just 27.4 percent from behind the arc while attempting just a few more than their average of 27 per game. Opponents won the rebounding battle in each of those games.

Widener reached the Championship game with a convincing 80-70 win over Alvernia. The Golden Wolves scored the first four points of the game but feel behind after three-different Widener players hit 3-pointers and had to chase from there. Howie Rankine Jr. led the Pride with 21, and Schenk and Dominic Dunn added 20 and 17. Late in the game, Steven Matlack became the third Widener player to reach 1000 points. Unlike Dunn, who has 1658, and Anthony DiCaro, all of Matlack's points came in a Widener uniform. Rankine Jr. is 21 points for 1000 for his career.

The Eagles reached the final with a hard-fought win in front of a hostile crowd at Hood. Eastern answered several early runs from their hosts and pulled away in the final 10 minutes. Claiborne scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half, and the Eagles put five players in double figures on the way to an 86-72 win. Zubair Lee picked up his 13th double-double of the year with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocked shots.

The winner of the MAC Commonwealth Championship game will secure the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. As the top-ranked team in Region 5, Widener will be playing next week regardless of today's outcome.

Admission to the Championship is $8 for adults and $6 for senior citizens and children. Students from MAC member schools (with ID) are free.

Those who cannot attend can watch the livestream on MAC TV, which is available on Roku, Apple TV, or on many smart TV's. Click Here to watch the game on your computer or mobile device.