Steve Finkernagel

Freshman Jourdon Wilson remains one of the top rookie guards in the Freedom Conference

MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES VS. EASTERN

2/10/2012 11:41:00 AM

(Complete Game Notes)

MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES VS. EASTERN

Wilkes Colonels (14-7, 7-4) vs. Eastern Eagles (14-8, 7-4)
Saturday, February 11, 2012 - 3:00 p.m.
St. Davids, Pa. / Eagles Gymnasium

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AT A GLANCE
Wilkes travels to St. Davids, Pa. Saturday for a key Freedom Conference matchup with Eastern. In the first meeting of the year on Jan. 25th, Eastern posted a 68-55 victory in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

LAST TIME OUT
A 23-point performance from Kendall Hinze (Lewisberry, PA/Red Land) and a double-double from Paul Huch (Tuckerton, NJ/Pinelands Regional) was not enough as Wilkes fell to FDU-Florham from the Ferguson Recreation Center Wednesday evening, 68-66.

The Devils were on the board first as Adam Katz knocked down a three-pointer to go up 4-0 just minutes into the game. A jumper by Jourdon Wilson (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) in the paint got Wilkes on the scoreboard. The teams were all tied up at eight with 16:14 left as Hinze got his third straight bucket of the night. With 7:11 on the clock Wilkes took its first lead of the evening. A layup by Brendan Sheldon (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley) put the Colonels up by two, 17-15. From that point on FDU-Florham went on an 8-0 run started by Kevin Furlong's fast break layup. The Devils went up 24-17. Two buckets by Huch and Jeremy Hartman (Little Egg Harbor, NJ/Pinelands Regional) cut the Wilkes deficit to nine points. At the half it was the Devils 33 and the Colonels 24.

FDU-Florham took the opening possession of the second half and Katz knocked down a jumper to increase their lead to 11 points. Huch added three back-to-back baskets for Wilkes. With 16:50 on the clock the Devils were up by six. Two free throws and a jumper by Wilson got the Colonels within reach of the Devils, 39-35.

With just under ten minutes remaining in the game, FDU-Florham took a nine point lead, 49-40. The Colonels were not finished as they went on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to two points, 58-56. Through that stretch Hinze knocked down two of the three shots for Wilkes. With 3:05 left in the game the Devils went back up four, 62-58. Adam Katz continued to shoot strong for the Devils as his jumper in the paint with 1:18 left to play put FDU-Florham up by six. At that point it was FDU-Florham 66-60. Wilkes then cut the lead to four points with Sheldon's basket with exactly a minute remaining in the game. Mullins two back-to-back shots pulled Wilkes to within two points, 66-64, with 38 seconds left on the clock. With 26 seconds to play Katz was fouled by Mullins and made both free throws. Just ten seconds later the foul went to the other team as Wilson's two shots from the line edged Wilkes back within two points. The Colonels had one last chance. Huch rebounded the ball passing to Tyler Breznitsky (Freeland, PA/MMI Prep) but his shot missed the net.

Hinze posted 23 points while shooting 8-for-11 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the line. He also garnered six rebounds off the glass and had two assists and two steals. Huch finished the night with a double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) shooting 5-for-9 from the field while also posting three assists in a team-high 38 minutes of action. Mullins added four assists and four steals while posting seven points.

THE CAPTAINS
The trio of captains for the Colonels this season are Mullins, Huch and Hinze. The top three returning scorers for Wilkes, Mullins, Huch, and Hinze are the senior leaders of this year's squad. Mullins leads the backcourt attack averaging 14.8 ppg and 4.0 rpg. The senior sharpshooter is connecting on 43.0 percent (101-235) from the field and 81.0 percent (64-79) from the charity stripe. Huch and Hinze have controlled the paint combining for 28.9 ppg and 14.9 rpg.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Hinze enters his second year as a full-time starter in 2011-12 and has anchored a Colonels frontcourt loaded with experience and depth at all positions. Hinze topped the conference in field goal percentage (61.4 %) last season, and continues to be the premier big man in Freedom play this season shooting 62.5 percent (110-176) from the field (1st in Freedom).

His best game in a Wilkes uniform this season came in the Colonels victory at Manhattanville. He poured in a season-high 24 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the field and 10-for-12 from the foul line. Hinze also netted 22 points in a win at Penn College going 12-for-14 from the charity stripe. He also flexed his muscle on the glass finishing with 12 rebounds and one block for his third double-double of the year. Hinze finished with 18 points and eight boards in the win over Del Val on Jan. 11 as well as dropping 18 points in the Colonels win over Manhattanville Saturday. He currently stands with 908 career points.

HUCH INSIDE AND OUT
At 6-5, Huch is a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses every night as the senior guard-forward can play on the perimeter as well as with his back to the basket. He provides productivity in three different categories for Wilkes scoring points, grabbing rebounds, and blocking shots. He continues to fill the stat sheet averaging 14.3 ppg and 8.1 rpg (team-high). Huch has reached double figures in 16 of 21 contests this season recording five double-doubles. Huch went for a career-high 29 points in the Colonels win at Marywood shooting 13-for-16 from the field.

MULLINS FOR MAYOR
Mullins averages 14.8 ppg and 4.0 rpg leading the Colonels backcourt. Mullins has enjoyed several outstanding performances this year starting in a loss against Dickinson pouring in 26 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the floor while grabbing four rebounds in 37 minutes of action. He also found a way to get to the free throw line all night finishing 14-for-16 from the stripe. He followed that performance with a 19-point effort in the win over BBC and a 23-point outpour at Marywood making 7-of-10 from behind the arc including his first four. Mullins is shooting 37.4 percent (43-115) from three-point range including a career-high nine three-pointers at King's (9-for-16). Mullins went for a career-high 30 points on 10-for-18 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out two assists in the win over King's. For his play Mullins was named Freedom Conference Player of the Week.

ROOKIE TAKEOVER
Wilson, who earned Freedom Player of the Week in early December, had a career night in the Colonels blowout win over Misericordia to start the conference campaign. The rookie point guard finished with 26 points on an efficient 12-for-16 shooting from the floor while hitting both of his three-point attempts. For the season, Wilson is averaging 10.4 ppg and 2.4 apg in 25.7 mpg reaching double figures in 11 of 21 contests.

Tyler Breznitsky (Freeland, PA/MMI Prep) saw his minutes increase as last season went on, providing a spark off the bench. He continues to provide a spark off the pine this year averaging 7.5 ppg, hitting on 40.6 percent (26-64) of his three-point attempts. Breznitsky went for a season-high 18 tallies against PSU Wilkes-Barre on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting from behind the arc. Fellow guards junior Cliff Richardson (Bernville, PA/Tulpehocken) and sophomore Craig Thomas (Avenel, NJ/Cardinal McCarrick)
continue to add depth to the Wilkes backcourt as Thomas averages 1.4 ppg in 8.1 mpg, while Richardson averages 3.3 mpg.

THE FRESHMEN
The Colonels feature six true freshmen this season, including Wilson, Cameron Hinkel (Millerstown, PA/Greenwood), Trevor Gilliam (Powhatan, VA/Blessed Sacrament Huguenot), Mike Sharpe (Saylorsburg, PA/Pleasant Valley), Jeremy Hartman (Little Egg Harbor, NJ/Pinelands Regional), and Lee Strause (Port Carbon, PA/Pottsville Nativity). Hinkel has six starts under his belt averaging 2.2 ppg and 2.5 rpg in 11.8 mpg. Hartman has started 12 times averaging 3.5 ppg in 15.9 mpg hitting for a career-high 11 points at Del Val.

THE HEAD MAN
Wilkes head coach Jerry Rickrode enters his 20th season at the helm, compiling a 360-159 (.693) career record. He has taken the Colonels to the conference playoffs 16 times, including 10 straight from 1992-93-2001-02. He has also led Wilkes to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances (1994-95-1998-99), including four Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights and one Final Four appearance. He's also a four-time NABC Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and a three-time Freedom/MAC Coach of the year.

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES OF MARTS
The Colonels have been very successful playing at home under Rickrode, putting together a 209-53 (.797) record. In 1997-98, when the Colonels advanced to the Final Four, they went 17-0 and the next year went 14-0, moving on to the Elite Eight. Wilkes is 8-1 at home this year with wins over PSU Hazleton, Baptist Bible, Misericordia University, PSU Wilkes-Barre, Delaware Valley, FDU-Florham, Manhattanville, and Lebanon Valley.

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