Box Score

ANNVILLE – Chris DeRojas (Dallas, Bishop O'Reilly) finished with 18 points but was limited to just two in the second half and the Colonels gave up 20 turnovers as Wilkes University fell to Lebanon Valley College 80-61 in a Freedom-Commonwealth Conference crossover men's basketball matchup on Tuesday night at the LVC Gymnasium.

Matt Mullins (Binghamton, NY, Chenango Valley) got the Colonels off to a quick start by converting a three-pointer on their first possession before Lebanon Valley came back to take a 5-3 lead just over a minute later. A layup followed by a three-pointer from DeRojas put Wilkes back on top after its next two possessions before the Dutchmen went on a 15-4 run to take a 20-12 lead with 9:34 left in the half.

The Colonels narrowed their deficit to three points after a timeout and back-to-back threes from DeRojas, but Lebanon Valley would continue to make its shots and after more back-and-forth scoring, took a 38-32 lead into the locker room.

The Dutchmen started the half on a 7-3 run to take a 10-point lead, but a layup and one by Mullins put the Colonels deficit back to seven with 15:50 left.

Lebanon Valley then responded by turning up the defense and going on a 17-4 run over the next 6:31 to take a commanding 62-42 lead with a little more than nine minutes left to go in the contest. The Colonels fought back, but were never able to get the deficit below 15 points as the Dutchmen went on to win by 19.

Lebanon Valley's Danny Brooks led all scorers with 21 points, adding seven rebounds, while Anthony Trautman dropped 14 points and had a school-record nine steals. Joe Meehan and Grant Becker also reached double-figures in scoring for the Dutchmen.

DeRojas finished 7-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point range, adding four rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of action. Tyler Breznitsky (Freeland, MMI Prep) came off the bench to score 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting in just 24 minutes, adding three assists, while Mullins scored 12 points. Steve Blish (Monroe Township, NJ, Monroe Township) scored eight points in eight minutes and Paul Huch (Tuckerton, NJ, Pinelands Regional) had four blocks defensively for the Colonels.

The Colonels, now 2-2 on the year, are off for Thanksgiving break and return to action next Wednesday with their Freedom Conference opener at Misericordia University. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. from Dallas.