Box Score

ALLENTOWN – Kendall Hinze (Lewisberry, Red Land) finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds but Gallaudet chipped away at the Colonels 17-point halftime lead to rally and defeat Wilkes University 74-66 in the opening men's basketball game of the 29th Annual Scotty Wood Tournament at Muhlenberg College in Allentown.

The Colonels (1-1) got out to a quick 8-0 lead in the game's first 1:25, getting layups from Matt Mullins (Binghamton, NY, Chenango Valley), Paul Huch (Tuckerton, NJ, Pinelands Regional) and Brendan Sheldon (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley) (Milford, Delaware Valley). After Gallaudet narrowed its deficit to one point at 13-12 six minutes later, Wilkes responded with a 12-2 run, capped by a jumper from Sheldon as the Colonels went on top 25-14. Wilkes then closed out the half with an 18-12 run over the final 7:14, taking a 43-26 lead into the locker room.

Wilkes stretched its lead to 19 points early in the second half after a layup by Huch, but Gallaudet began chipping away with a layup and a three-pointer by Layton Seeber at the 17:46 mark.

After the Colonels got their lead back up to 18 points, Gallaudet exploded, going on a 33-3 run over 8:21, taking control of the game and going on top 64-54 with 7:09 remaining in the game. In the run, Gallaudet hit seven three-pointers, including four from Tyler Crace.

The Colonels rallied, cutting their deficit to four points twice, including once with 35 seconds remaining, but Gallaudet closed out the game by hitting its final four foul shots, winning by eight points.

Gallaudet went 17-of-32 from the field in the second half, including 8-of-14 from three-point range to lead its comeback. Seeber led all scorers with 24 points in 29 minutes, while Crace and Tony Tatum each added 16 points.

Hinze finished 9-of-13 from the field and grabbed five rebounds to help him get his second career double-double, adding three assists and three steals. Chris DeRojas (Dallas, Bishop O'Reilly) added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Mullins chipped in with 10 points and Huch had nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Colonels will play in the tournament's consolation game tomorrow at 6:00 p.m., playing the loser of the Muhlenberg-Rosemont contest.