Box Score
CENTER VALLEY – For the second-straight season, the Wilkes University men's basketball team had its season ended in the Freedom Conference Playoffs by DeSales University as the Bulldogs took a 74-62 win in the semifinals.
It seemed that the Bulldogs (21-5) couldn't miss, hitting 64 percent in the first half and 54.9 percent for the game, which proved to be the difference. The two teams made the same number of three pointers, free throws, while the Colonels had one more rebound (31-30). “Both teams were executing but one team made their open shots and the other didn't,” head coach Jerry Rickrode said. “I think we aren't sitting here upset if we hit our open shots.”
The win marks the ninth-straight time DeSales has defeated Wilkes as well as 11 out of the last 12 meetings.
The big three for the Colonels all scored in double-figures with
Tom Kresge (Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley) leading the way with 19, hitting 8-of-16 from the field, while pulling down a team-high seven rebounds.
Steve Kline (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), playing in his final game in a Colonel uniform had 18 points while
Chris DeRojas (Kingston, Pa./Bishop O'Reilly) finished with 12. “I think Steve had a really nice game. I get after him a lot in the locker room, but tonight I thought he played tough,” Rickrode said.
In the first half both teams exchanged buckets to open the game with neither team leading by more than four until DeSales used a 8-0 run with 7:38 before the break to take a 25-17 lead. Rob Schubach started the scoring burst with a three-pointer that broke a 17-17 tie before Matt Zwetolitz made a layup then converted the layup to cap off the run.
A three-pointer by Darnell Braswell would extend the Bulldogs' lead to 10 (28-18) with 6:52 to go which the Colonels never recovered. A 4-0 mini run by Wilkes within five (30-25) with two minutes to go, but would come no closer the rest of the half.
While the Bulldogs were nearly flawless from the field in the first half, the Colonels were not as efficient, but did hit 41.4 percent from the floor. Eight Colonel turnovers that turned into 15 points for the Bulldogs proved to be the difference. .
The second half saw the Bulldogs continue work their inside-outside game, scoring a total of 38 points with guard Darnell Braswell putting in a game-high 22, while center Ed Lapinski added 16 with 10 rebounds to record the game's only double-double.
The Colonels opened the second half with a 5-1 run to pull within four (40-36), but an 8-1 run by DeSales gave it a 48-37 lead with 14:15 to go after Bob Zanneo drained one of his two three-pointers on the night. Neither team would score back-to-back baskets the rest of the way as the Colonels never pulled closer the rest of the way.
“I think it came down to two things. The first was our inability to knock down the open shot and we didn't play tougher defense,” Rickrode said. “I am sure we missed 10 open shots. We played with a good pace, we just couldn't covert.”
The Colonels end their season at 15-11 and the season marks the 15th time they have reached the post season in the past 17 years. During that span Wilkes has advanced to the semifinals of its league tournament on 11 different occasions.
