Lancaster, Pa. – (2/23/2025) – With the conclusion of the conference and regular season schedules, interim league commissioner Rebecca Mullen has officially released the seeding for the 2024-2025 Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Men's Basketball Championship Tournament. Gwynedd Mercy University, Marymount University, Neumann University finished with identical 9-3 league records, and after several tie breakers were exhausted, point differential during the regular season separated the Knights as the top seed. A Saturday morning coin flip determined the Saints would host the Griffins in the #2/#3 semifinal scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26. The winner of a Monday-February 24 AEC First Round contest (6:00 p.m.) between #5 Marywood University and #4 Centenary University (N.J.) will oppose the top-seeded Knights in a 7:00 p.m. Wednesday-night semifinal. The 2024-2025 AEC Men's Basketball Championship will take place on Saturday, March 1, at the home of the highest remaining seed.
 
Gwynedd Mercy University and Marymount University split their 2024-2025 contests; both won on the road as the Saints scored a 78-72 win on January 15 and the Griffins responded with a similar 76-70 victory on February 12. Senior guard Mike Marable (Philadelphia, Pa.) was a key component of the Red and Gold's success in both affairs, while senior guard Aquil Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) and graduate guard Shawn Summers Jr. (Montclair, N.J.) took turns taking over the Griffins' lead scoring role.   
 
An unprecedented unbeaten streak came to an end in the first meeting as Gwynedd Mercy University fell on the short side of a 78-72 final at the Griffin Complex. Despite a 34-29 Red and Gold rebounding advantage, the Saints' first-half shooting - 6-of-13 (.462) from three-point range - was enough to earn them a 34-27 halftime advantage. In the end, a 11-of-14 (.786) second-half free throw clip was enough to deny the Red and Gold any reprise. Stewart led Gwynedd Mercy University with 19 points; he was 6-of-11 (.545) from the field with four three-point baskets (4-of-8, .500) and he hit 3-of-5 (.600) from the free throw line. His efforts were aided by the dirty work of Marable and sophomore guard Justin Savage (Philadelphia, Pa.); the former recorded 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal, while the latter finished with 13 points, four rebounds, four assists, and a steal.

Gwynedd Mercy University got revenge on their January-15 trip to the Converse Family Fieldhouse. The Griffins held the lead for most of the first half, but faced a 41-37 (2:01) halftime deficit before wearing down the Saints down with solid defense (Marymount University: 23-of-52, .442 FG), offensive rebounds (13), and plenty of point points in the paint (42). Summers was Gwynedd Mercy University's leading scorer with 23 points, while Marable headlined a united rebounding effort with eight. The former added four rebounds, three assists, and a steal to his points, while the latter paired his rebounds with six points, two assists, and a steal.
 
Gwynedd Mercy University features the league's highest scoring offense (1^st, 83.0 points/game) and leading scorer (1^st; 422 points, 16.9/game) in Summers. Conversely, the Griffins held their opponents to 68.9 points per game (PPG) to rank second in the AEC behind their postseason-rival Saints (67.3 points allowed per game). The outcome of the points-for/points-against equation leaves the Red and Gold with a conference-best 14.1 average win margin. The Griffins currently lead the league in field goals made (772), field goal percentage (.470), three-pointers made (230), three-pointer percentage (.335), opponent field goals made (610), opponent field goal percentage (.415), turnover margin (6.56), opponent turnovers (488, 19.5/game), assists/turnover ratio (1.33), and blocks (102, 4.08/game).
 
Summers has made a league-high 164 field goals and owns the league's best field goal percentage (.558; 164-of-294). Stewart is the league's top three-point shooter in both total made (71) and percentage (.386; 71-of-184), while Marable's versatility has tied him for the league lead in defensive rebounds (T1st, 116), assists (92), assists per game (3.8), steals (51), and steals per game (2.1). Sophomore forward Travon Mack (Coatesville, Pa.) was the league's only player to surpass Marable (21) in blocks with his current total of 23. Gwynedd Mercy University features the league's top four thieves as the AEC steals leaders currently lists Marable (51 steals, 2.1/game), Stewart (50, 2.0), and junior guards D.J. Johnson (Norristown, Pa.) (49, 2.0), and Jalen Snead (Philadelphia, Pa.) (47, 1.9) atop the statistical category.