Box Score

WILKES-BARRE – Chris DeRojas (Dallas/Bishop O'Reilly) had 29 points including nine-of-nine from the free throw line to help seal a 77-64 victory against Freedom Conference opponent Misericordia on Thursday night. The victory was the third in a row for Wilkes, and helps keep its postseason hopes alive.

Wilkes found itself in a hole early, struggling to hit shots while the Cougars were connecting on nearly everything. Seven minutes into the game the Colonels found themselves down seven points, but the rest of the half was spent fighting back into the contest with the help of Tyler Breznitsky (Freeland, PA/MMI Prep) who scored seven points in five minutes to bring Wilkes back into the game.

The two teams battled back and forth in the waning minutes of the half, but scores by DeRojas and Kendall Hinze (Lewisberry, PA/Red Land) pushed Wilkes into a two point lead at the break, 36-34.

DeRojas had 10 points in the half, including two three-pointers. Breznitsky came off the bench to score seven points of his own, while Hinze and Matt Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) each had six points. Wilkes committed 10 turnovers in the half, crippling their offensive output.

In the second half the battle waged on, with the two teams going back and forth, neither of whom could establish a comfortable lead. At the 13:07 mark Mullins hit a free throw that tied the game for the eighth time, but he also hit the next charity stripe shot to give Wilkes the lead, one that they would never look back from.

Ensuing layups by Mullins and DeRojas coupled with free throws by DeRojas pushed the Wilkes lead to eight with 10:21 left to play. On the other end of the floor, solid Colonel defense stifled the Cougar offensive charge, while Wilkes continued to connect on shots offensively. In the last six minutes Wilkes shot six free throws, hitting on all its attempts while holding Misericordia to nearly nothing offensively and extending its lead to 15.

The Cougars elected not to foul late, and a final jumper by DeRojas with the shot clock winding down sealed the 77-64 victory for Wilkes.

DeRojas led all scorers with 29 points, including nine-of-nine from the free throw line, two steals, and zero turnovers. Mullins had a very efficient game, scoring 14 points on six-of-ten from the field while collecting nine rebounds. Breznitsky and Paul Huch (Tuckerton, NJ/Pinelands Regional) each added 10 points of their own while Wilkes shot just under 55 percent from the field.

With the victory Wilkes improves to 12-7, 5-4 on the season and finds itself right in the postseason hunt.

The Colonels will now hit the road to take on Manhattanville College on Saturday, Feb. 5. That game will begin at approximately 8:00 p.m.