box score

The Wilkes University men's basketball team used a 30-10 run in the final 14:38 to play to lift it to a 72-61 win over No. 23 Carthage in the first game of the Wilkes-Barre Challenge hosted by Kings College. The Redmen, who shot nearly 52 percent in the first half, made just one field goal during the Colonels run.

After playing man defense for the majority of the first half, head coach Jerry Rickrode switched to zone, which proved to be the difference in the game. "I don't know if they (Carthage) see a lot of zone, but I wanted to take the one-on-one out of it," Rickrode said. The decision was a wise one as his team held the Red Men to just 20.7 percent from the field in the second half.

Carthage used an inside-out game in the first half, hitting 20-of-56 shots from the field where Steve Djurickovic scored 13 of his 20 points. While Djurickovic seemed to hit from anywhere on the court, Tom Kresge (Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley) countered for the Colonels, scoring 14 of his team-high 19 points in the first. "Tommy carried us in the first half then the rest of the team picked it up in the second," Rickrode said.

The Red Men led all but one time in the first half, including as many as 13 with 3:52 when Djurickovic made a jumper and the following free throw. His bucket capped off a 10-2 run that was finally broken when Kresge knocked down one of his two three-pointers on the night with 3:42 to go before the break. Kresge's long-range shot jump-started an 8-3 run to end the half. Carthage went into the locker room with a 36-31 halftime lead.

The Colonels would cut the lead to two (39-37) with 18:17 to play after a jumper by Kresge, but would not take the lead until seven minutes later when Chris Gulla (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional) drained a three-pointer, giving Wilkes a 52-51 lead which they would not relinquish.

During the Red Men's drought, they missed 20-straight shot attempts, including five layups and 10 three-pointers. Although it couldn't buy a basket, Carthage did convert seven free throws.

"The guys are starting to get the offense that we put in about four games ago," Rickrode said. "We started to take our time on offense in the second half and it paid off."

The win for the Colonels was the first over a nationally-ranked team in recent history. "The rankings in Division III are so subjective. This team we played was really good, so to get a win tonight was nice," commented Rickrode.

Wilkes will continue in the Challenge tomorrow at 1 p.m. when it plays John Jay at Scandlon Gymnasium.