Steve Finkernagel

Matt Mullins and the Colonels look to improve their playoff position against DeSales Tuesday

MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES VS. DESALES

2/13/2012 2:30:00 PM

(Complete Game Notes)

MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES VS. DESALES

Wilkes Colonels (15-7, 8-4) vs. DeSales Bulldogs (14-9, 7-5)
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 - 8:00 p.m.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. / Marts Center

Live Stats

Live Audio: (ESPNWilliamsport.com/Play-By-Play: Trevor Turner)

AT A GLANCE
Wilkes returns home Tuesday for a key Freedom Conference matchup with DeSales. In the first meeting of the year on Dec. 3rd, Wilkes posted a 77-60 victory in Center Valley, Pa.

LAST TIME OUT
Senior center Kendall Hinze (Lewisberry, PA/Red Land) (Lewisberry, PA/Red Land) scored a season-high 26 points and added 10 rebounds to lead visiting Wilkes University to a 68-64 win at Eastern University Saturday afternoon in Freedom play.

Wilkes controlled tempo early leading 27-18 with 3:34 left in the half following a Hinze score in the paint. The Colonels added to the advantage to close out the half as two Jourdon Wilson (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) free tosses and another Hinze bucket inside gave Wilkes a 30-18 lead at the half.

Wilkes continued to hit on all cylinders to start the second half as Wilson canned a mid-range jumper and Matt Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) dialed one home from long range extending the lead to 32-19 with 17:46 left. Eastern answered with a run of their own, 12-4, to close to within four 37-33 just six minutes later. A quick 10-2 run late in the game put the Colonels in front 62-50 as Hinze scored eight of his season-high 26 points during the spurt. Eastern answered the Colonel run with one of their own tying the game at 64 with :48 ticks on the clock. Following a Wilkes miscue, the Colonels defense came up with a big stop leading to a Todd Eagles (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown East) layup off a Wilson miss to give Wilkes a 66-64 lead with just three second left. An Eastern turnover on the inbounds play followed by a foul sealed the important Freedom win for Wilkes.

Hinze enjoyed his best outing of the season shooting 9-for-10 from the field and 8-for-9 from the foul line. Wilson joined Hinze in double figures finishing with 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting. The Colonels shot a blistering 53.5 percent (23-43) from the field while connecting on four three-pointers.

The Colonel defense may have been the key in the win holding Eastern to just 32.4 percent (22-68) shooting and a dismal 15.4 percent (2-13) from long range. Alex Nelson led the Eagles offense with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Collin Whipple followed with 20 points and three assists.

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 14.4 ppg and 4.0 rpg. The senior sharpshooter is connecting on 42.4 percent (103-243) from the field and 79.0 percent (64-81) from the charity stripe. Huch and Hinze have controlled the paint combining for 29.2 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 64.0 percent (119-186) from the field (1st in Freedom).

His best game in a Wilkes uniform this season came in the Colonels victory at Eastern last Saturday. Hinze went for 26 points and 10 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the year. He also poured in 24 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the field and 10-for-12 from the foul line in a win at Manhattanville earlier this season.

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 two weeks ago. He currently stands with 934 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 14.1 ppg and 7.9 rpg (team-high). Huch has reached double figures in 16 of 22 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 14.4 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 10.6 ppg and 2.4 apg in 26.0 mpg reaching double figures in 12 of 22 contests.

BACKCOURT RESERVES
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 7.3 ppg, hitting on 41.5 percent (27-65) 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 5.3 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 3.3 ppg in 15.2 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 361-159 (.694) 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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