Box Score

WILKES-BARRE – Chris DeRojas (Dallas/Bishop O'Reilly) scored 21 points, including 12 points in the last 6:31 and the last two free throws to help propel the Colonels over King's College at the Marts Center on Saturday afternoon. The Colonels collected their sixth victory in a row after defeating the Monarchs 61-58.

Wilkes started the game hot, as a team effort gave the Colonels a quick 12-3 lead in the first five minutes. Shots from Brendan Sheldon (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley), Matt Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley), and Kendall Hinze (Lewisberry, PA/Red Land) helped Wilkes gain a cushion early in the contest.

King's wouldn't lie down early though, as a couple of three-pointers and multiple chances due to offensive rebounding helped the Monarchs to climb back into the game. With just under five minutes left in the period, King's had finally worked its way into its first lead of the game, taking a 24-23 lead.

The rest of the half belonged to the Colonels, as Mullins got a hot hand and scored eight points in less than three minutes with the help of two three-pointers to give Wilkes a 36-28 advantage at the break.

With his late surge, Mullins led Wilkes in the first period with 10 points and four-of-six shooting. Hinze added nine points and five rebounds while only missing one shot, while Sheldon had eight points and four rebounds. Wilkes shot nearly 52 percent from the field and held King's to just 33.3 percent.

In the second period the Colonels pushed the lead to 10 points with 14:05 left on a jumper by Sheldon, but over the next five minutes King's would go on a 15-3 run to once again take the lead with just over nine minutes to play.

Each team struggled to score over the next three minutes which were marked by missed shots and turnovers by each team. With 6:31 left to play DeRojas broke the silence with a runner along the left baseline to tie the game at 49 apiece.

The next possession, DeRojas kept rolling, hitting a three-pointer off the dribble. On the ensuing possession, he hit a jumper, and 40 seconds later it a desperation three-pointer with the shot clock running down, giving Wilkes a five point advantage at the time.

With 1:31 left to play the Colonels were up by three when a wide open Monarch missed a three-pointer to tie the contest. Wilkes missed and King's answered with a quick layup to bring the deficit to one. With five second left, and after being fouled, DeRojas stepped up to the line with a deafening silence filling the gym and hit two free throws. King's' last second desperation three-pointer went long, and Wilkes collected the victory, 61-58.

DeRojas led all scorers in the contest with 21 points, including 14 in the second half and 12 in the last 6:30. He played the entire game minus the last five seconds. Hinze finished with a big game as well, controlling the defensive boards and finishing with a double-double, 14 points and 11 rebounds. He went six-of-nine from the field. Mullins had 12 points and carried the Colonels at the end of the first half, while Brendan Sheldon (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley) had his best game of the season with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Wilkes shot 42.6 percent in the game, while King's only hit on 33.9 percent of its shots. The Colonels also hit on 84.6 percent of their free throws, which was crucial down the stretch. With the victory the Colonels are now 9-5 and have won six games in a row.

The men will now host conference foe DeSales on Wednesday, Jan. 19. That game will begin at approximately 8:00 p.m.