Gwynedd Mercy Setting The Pace In The CSAC

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Division III Gwynedd Mercy University was never really threatened last night in a 93-71 home win over Marywood University. The victory improved the Griffins to 7-5 on the season and, more importantly, 5-0 in Colonial States Athletic Conference action. That has Gwynedd Mercy alone at the top of the conference standings.

"I like to think that we're still almost getting to the top of the mountain," Gwynedd Mercy head coach John Baron tells KYW Newsradio about his team's development this season. "It would be best if we get there maybe in the beginning of February and ride it into a playoff run and see what we can do."

Listen to the entire interview with Gwynedd Mercy's John Baron

The Griffins had the offense in high gear in last night's win and that is nothing new for this athletic group. Gwynedd Mercy averages more than 83 points a game with five players averaging double figures. The win against Marywood represented the fifth time in 12 games this season that the Griffins eclipsed the 90-point plateau.

"We like to play fast," Baron says. "But we really work on the half-court stuff because some teams obviously try and slow us down. We work on transition every single day, it's not like we roll the ball out or anything, we work on transition drills, catching and passing, fundamentals and just getting up and down the floor. But on the other side, we know that we have to play half-court offense and it's something that we try and play inside and out."

The leading scorer for the Griffins is junior forward Cedric Elleby. A South Jersey product who went to Delsea High School, Elleby averages 17.3 points a game and he talks about why the Griffins are so good with the basketball in their hands.

"We have good guards, good bigs, we space out the floor," Elleby tells KYW Newsradio. "Coach says, 'Dribble less, pass more.' That's what we're working on in practice. We prefer to take one dribble then pass, instead of dribbling around so much."

Listen to the entire interview with Gwynedd Mercy's Cedric Elleby

Elleby also is second on the team in rebounding, pulling down 7.8 boards a night. Senior guard, and Bensalem High product, Julian Hyden leads the team on the glass at 8.8 rebounds a game. He is also second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 points a game.

Baron talks about where his team can still get better.

"Defensively, without a doubt," Baron says. "It's something that we really, really focus on. We lost some games early because we scored a lot and we gave up a lot. We're starting to chip away now at holding team's field goal percentages down and points down and that's essentially how you're going to win a championship is through defense."

The Griffins return to the court on Saturday when they visit Rosemont College.