Box Score
Wilkes University trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, but held Misericordia to 22 second half points to beat the Cougars 59-53 in Freedom Conference action.
After shooting just 32 percent in the first, the Colonels caught fire in the second, hitting 11-of-21 shots from the field for 57.1 percent.
Steve Kline (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) and
Tom Kresge (Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley) combined for 28 of the team's 59 points with Kline leading the way with 15. Kresge just missed his second double-double over the past three games after grabbing eight rebounds.
Wilkes managed just one field goal in the first 12:26 of the game and trailed 14-5 after
Anthony Gabriel (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) made the front end of a pair of free throws. Unlike the Colonels, Misericordia made seven of its first 13 shots and eventually led 21-9 after Marcus Little hit a pair of free throws with 10:38 to go. Little would finish with 14 points, 10 of which came from the free throw line.
Both teams exchanged buckets the rest of the half until the Colonels used an 8-3 run to close out the first period, but could only pull within five (31-26) at intermission.
Misericordia scored just two points in the first 5:26 of the second half and missed their first eight shots until Vinny Baumunk hit a three-pointer with 13:27 to go. The Colonels were unable to capitalize as they still trailed by one despite the lack of scoring my Misericordia.
Kresge would finally give Wilkes the lead for good after hitting a short jumper with 12:48 to go, giving the Colonels a 39-38 lead. They would exchange buckets once again with the Cougars tying the game on four different occasions. Little would tie the game at 49 with 3:48 to go before Wilkes closed out the half with a 10-4 run.
The Colonels improved to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in league play. They out-rebounded the Cougars 38-32, marking the ninth time they have done so this season.
Wilkes will be back in action Saturday when it heads to Reading to take on Alvernia at 3 p.m.
