Steve Finkernagel

#2 Wilkes hosts #3 Eastern Wednesday with the winner advancing to the Freedom Conference Championship

WILKES MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES VS. EASTERN (FREEDOM SEMIFINALS)

2/20/2012 2:45:00 PM

(Complete Game Notes)

WILKES MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES VS. EASTERN (FREEDOM SEMIFINALS)

#2 Wilkes Colonels (16-8, 9-5) vs. #3 Eastern Eagles (15-10, 8-6)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - 7:00 p.m.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa. / Marts Center

Ticket Prices:
$6 Adults
$4 Seniors
$2 Students
(Wilkes ID and athletic passes will not be accepted)

Live Stats

Live Audio: (Play-By-Play: Trevor Turner)

AT A GLANCE
Second seeded Wilkes host third seeded Eastern University Wednesday in the Freedom Conference semifinals with the winner advancing to play in the Freedom Conference Championship game Saturday at the highest remaining seed. The teams split the season series with each squad winning on the others home floor.

LAST TIME OUT
Senior Kendall Hinze (Lewisberry, PA/Red Land) led four Colonels in double figures with scoring a game-high 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds as Wilkes University posted a 74-60 win over cross-town rival King's College in both teams' Freedom Conference finale Saturday at the Marts Center. With the win, Wilkes locks up the second seed in next week's Freedom Conference Tournament and will host third seeded Eastern, who were 68-66 winners over DeSales earlier today.

Wilkes opened the game with some hot shooting from the perimeter as Paul Huch (Tuckerton, NJ/Pinelands Regional) and Jourdon Wilson (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) connected on back-to-back three pointers giving the Colonels an 11-8 lead with 15:11 left in the first half. A quick 5-0 run capped off by two Matt Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) free throws extended the advantage to eight, 23-15 with 8:28 on the clock. The teams traded baskets over the next six minutes of play before Hinze scored in the paint before the halftime buzzer giving Wilkes a 33-27 lead at the break.

The Colonels continued their momentum in the second frame upping the lead to 47-34 following a coast-to-coast drive and score from Wilson. Another Wilson layup followed by a Huch steal and transition score forced the Monarchs to use a timeout as Wilkes grabbed its largest lead of the contest, 53-36 with 12:36 left. The Colonels coasted through the final seven minutes of play as the lead never dropped below nine. Consecutive scores from Huch and Hinze down low kept the visitors at bay as Wilkes clinched the number two seed in the Freedom finale.

Hinze continued to dominate in the paint notching his fifth double-double on the season shooting 6-for-12 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line. Of his game-high 14 rebounds, six were on the offensive end leading the Wilkes second chance points. Huch followed with 15 points and nine rebounds,
while Wilson and Mullins each added 11 tallies.

Tim O'Shea led King's with 12 points and eight rebounds. The Monarchs struggled shooting from the floor throughout finishing just 31.7 percent (20-63).

Prior to the contest, Wilkes honored its four senior members for all their hard work and dedication to the Colonel basketball program. Seniors included Mullins, Hinze, Huch, and Todd Eagles (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown East).

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 14.0 ppg and 4.1 rpg. The senior sharpshooter is connecting on 41.8 percent (107-256) from the field and 80.6 percent (75-93) from the charity stripe. Huch and Hinze have controlled the paint combining for 29.7 ppg and 15.2 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 62.8 percent (130-207) from the field (1st in Freedom).

His best game in a Wilkes uniform this season came in the Colonels victory at Eastern two weeks ago. 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 964 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 14.6 ppg and 8.0 rpg (team-high). Huch has reached double figures in 18 of 24 contests this season recording six double-doubles. Huch went for a career-high 29 points in the Colonels win at Marywood shooting 13-for-16 from the field. He added 26 points and 10 rebounds against DeSales last week.

MULLINS FOR MAYOR
Mullins averages 14.0 ppg and 4.1 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 at 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 2.6 apg in 26.3 mpg reaching double figures in 13 of 24 contests.

BACKCOURT RESERVES
Tyler Breznitsky (Freeland, PA/MMI Prep) (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 7.0 ppg, hitting on 39.1 percent (27-69) 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 1.2 ppg in 7.5 mpg, while Richardson averages 6.6 mpg including two starts.

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 seven starts under his belt averaging 2.1 ppg and 2.4 rpg in 11.9 mpg. Hartman has started 12 times averaging 3.4 ppg in 15.3 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 362-160 (.693) career record. He has taken the Colonels to the conference playoffs 17 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 210-53 (.798) 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 9-2 at home this year with wins over PSU Hazleton, Baptist Bible, Misericordia University, PSU Wilkes-Barre, Delaware Valley, FDU-Florham, Manhattanville, King's and Lebanon Valley.

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