Gwynedd Mercy Hoops Rolling Into New Year

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Division III Gwynedd Mercy University men's basketball team is in a good place as it gets into the heart of its conference schedule.

The Griffins are 8-2 as they prepare for a Colonial States Athletic Conference match-up with Clarks Summit University on Thursday night.

Gwynedd Mercy head coach John Baron really likes what he sees here so far this season.

"I actually have to admit that if you would've asked me in the summer if we were going to be 8-2 or you asked me to sign a contract saying we would be 8-2, I probably would've signed it," Baron tells KYW Newsradio. "I think our guys have come along and progressed very well, a little bit further along than I actually thought early in the preseason."

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

As is usually the case with the consistently successful Griffins, they have a lot of players contributing. Right at the top of that list is Cedric Elleby. A senior forward, he leads the team in scoring at 18.0 points per game. He is also tops on the roster in blocks (23) and is second in rebounding (8.1) and steals (17).

"Definitely the best under-sized kid that I've ever coached in my 16 years here at the school," Baron says. "He's really only about 6'2" and plays like he is 6'7", 6'8". Jumps out of the gym, is a very strong, tough kid."

The Griffins are playing well, but in a conference that features an undefeated and nationally ranked Neumann team, as well as perennial power Cabrini, not to mention up and coming squads like Rosemont and Immaculata, Baron knows they have to continue to get better. He talks about the focus here at the beginning of the new year.

"Obviously defense is always the big thing for us," Baron says. "I was a little concerned about scoring coming into the season, losing all those type of guys. But we're scoring about 82 points per game, but our emphasis still has to remain on playing defense and lessening our mistakes on the defensive end. As long as we can continue to do that, with the way things have been going offensively, I still think we can be in and can win a lot of games going forward."

Gwynedd Mercy and Clarks Summit get underway at 8:00pm on Thursday night.