Box Score

PURCHASE, N.Y. – Tom Kresge (Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley) scored a game-high 18 points and pulled down 15 rebounds four his fourth double-double of the season, leading the Colonels to a 58-49 win over Manhattanville.  

 

The win improves Wilkes to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in Freedom Conference play. 

 

The Colonels took advantage of their chances at the charity stripe, hitting 22-of-34 from the line, while Manhattanville wasn't as fortunate, getting just 13 free throw attempts and hitting seven. 

 

Chris DeRojas (Kingston, Pa./Bishop O'Reilly) scored the game's first bucked with 19:08 to go giving Wilkes the early lead. DeRojas, the team's leading scorer, finished with a season-low nine points. The Colonels only lost the lead once in the game, when Lamar Glass made a layup with 15:00 to go in the first giving the Valiants a 7-5 advantage. Steve Kline (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) would tie the game at seven after making a layup before Kresge gave the Colonels the lead for good after hitting a pair of free throws with 12:23 to go in the first. 

 

Kline made another layup with 5:03 to go before the break that sparked an 8-3 run capped off with a pair of free throws by Kyle Ruby (Lewisberry, Pa./Red Land), giving the Colonels a 24-14 advantage – their first double-digit lead of the game. Wilkes would eventually take a 24-17 lead into the locker room, but did not take advantage of poor shooting my Manhattanville, which hit just 23.8 percent from the field in the first period. 

 

Manhattanville opened the second half with a 12-5 run and eventually tied the game at 29 when Wesly Wicks drained a three-pointer with 14:07 to play. The lead would not last long as Ruby gave the Colonels the lead for good after making a layup with 13:18 to play. 

 

Both teams would exchange buckets until Wilkes used a 9-0 run capped off with a free throw by Kline with 38 seconds to play. The Valiants went nearly four minutes without scoring a point and closed out the game by scoring just three points in the final 4:08 of the game. 

 

Manhattanville shot 36.5 percent from the field, while Wilkes knocked down 17-of-40 shots from the field and out-rebounded the Valiants 38-26. 

 

Three players scored in double-figures for the Colonels with Kline putting in 14 while Chris Gulla (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional) added 10. 

 

Wilkes will be back in action Saturday when it hosts FDU-Florham at 3 p.m. in the Marts Center for a Freedom Conference matchup.