Box Score

WILKES-BARRE – Matt Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) scored a career-high 29 and Chris DeRojas (Dallas/Bishop O'Reilly) added 23 as the Colonels dominated Marywood on Wednesday night, 87-56. Wilkes led the entire game and pushed its win streak to three with the victory.

Wilkes came out in a whirlwind of offense led by their dynamic duo in the backcourt with Mullins and DeRojas. The Colonels began with a 23-7 run behind multiple three-pointers by DeRojas as well as jumpers and layups from Mullins. On the other end of the floor Wilkes contested every shot and held the Pacers to one shot on almost every possession.

The rest of the half was a team effort from Wilkes, with scores from Kendall Hinze (Lewisberry, PA/Red Land), Brendan Sheldon (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley), Cliff Richardson (Bernville, PA/Tulpehocken) and Bernard Edmonds (Exeter/Wyoming Area). Solid defense from a tough man-to-man from Wilkes held the Pacers to just 32 percent from the floor, while the Colonels shot over 47 percent. Marywood hit a few three-pointers down the stretch, but the deficit had become too large as Wilkes led 41-25 heading into the break.

Mullins had 12 points in the half on five-of-seven shooting and two assists, while DeRojas added 11 points of his own. Hinze controlled the boards, recording seven points and seven rebounds.

It was more of the same in the second half, as Marywood was never able to bring the deficit to less than 14 points. Wilkes kept the hot had going in the second period, shooting an astounding 73.1 percent in the half, mostly in part due to the shooting of Mullins and DeRojas. Tyler Breznitsky (Freeland, PA/MMI Prep) put in 12 quality minutes in the half, hitting both of his shots while helping break the half-court trap that Marywood put up halfway through the period. He also passed out three assists

Down the stretch Wilkes was still able to get to the basket and hit on its outside shots while chewing up the game clock in the process. In the end the Colonels picked up a quick win, improving to 6-5 on the season.

Mullins finished with 29 points on 12-of-16 from the field and three three-pointers, while DeRojas had 23 points on eight-of-sixteen. Both players also passed out four assists and played 31 minutes. Hinze was just one point shy of a double-double, finishing with nine points and 11 rebounds. Eleven players scored for the Colonels on the night, who hit 58.3 percent of their field goals on the evening.

The Wilkes men will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 8 when they host Freedom Conference foe Manhattanville. That game will begin at approximately 3:00 p.m.