Box Score
ANNEVILLE – Tom Kresge (Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley) tied a career-high with 28 points, 17 of which came in the second half but it wasn't enough as Lebanon Valley used a 17-8 run late in the second half to take a 76-70 win over Wilkes University.
The Colonels were without leading scorer
Chris DeRojas (Kingston, Pa./Bishop O'Reilly), who was out due to illness, finished the regular season with a 14-10 overall mark as well as 10-6 Freedom Conference record. Their league record gives them a berth into the Freedom Conference Championship as the No. 4 seed and will host Delaware Valley on Monday at 7 p.m. in the Marts Center. The winner of that matchup will travel to Center Valley to take on No. 1 seed DeSales.
Wilkes split with the Aggies earlier in the season, winning 91-81 in overtime on the road, while Delaware Valley took an 81-75 win in the Marts Center.
The Dutchmen shot nearly 52 percent from the field and had four players score in double-figures led by Kyle Enoch's 24 points. Enoch hit five of the team's nine three pointers and also dished out a game-high four assists. The Colonels dominated the inside, scoring 48 of their points in the paint, hitting 46.3 percent from the field for the game.
Anthony Gabriel (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) was the only other Wilkes player to score in double-figures with 11. Kresge was dominate under the basket as he recorded the game's only double-double with 12 rebounds.
Despite using their inside presence, the Colonels only went to the line 10 times, making six, while Lebanon Valley hit 13-of-24 from the charity stripe.
The Colonels led by as many as six several times in the first half but could never pull away from Lebanon Valley. Gabriel hit a jumper with 1:13 to go in the first half to give Wilkes a 31-25 advantage, but the Dutchmen closed out the half on a 5-0 run to go into the locker down one (31-30).
Both teams exchanged points in the second half. With 9:01 to go,
Steve Kline (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) who finished with nine points, tied the game at 50 with a layup, but Lebanon Valley would go on a 16-6 run to lead by 10 (66-56) with 4:44 to go. The Colonels never recovered as the Dutchmen led by as many as 12 on two different occasions.
The Colonels will be competing in the Freedom Conference Championships for the 14th time in the last 15 seasons. Last year they fell to DeSales 69-53 in the first round.
