Wilkes travels to Misericordia Saturday for the Freedom Conference Championship game at 4:00 p.m.

WILKES MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES VS. MISERICORDIA (FREEDOM CHAMPIONSHIP)

2/24/2012 10:00:00 AM

(Complete Game Notes)

WILKES MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES VS. MISERICORDIA (FREEDOM CHAMPIONSHIP)

#2 Wilkes Colonels (17-8) vs. #1 Misericordia Cougars (20-6)
Saturday, February 25, 2012 - 4:00 p.m.
Dallas, Pa. / Anderson Sports-Health Center

Ticket Prices:
$6 Adults
$4 Seniors
$2 Students

Live Stats

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

AT A GLANCE
Second seeded Wilkes travels to top seeded Misericordia Saturday for the Freedom Conference Championship with the winner earning a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The teams split the season series with each squad winning on its home floor. It marks the first title game appearance for Wilkes since the 2005-2006 season (lost at Scranton 64-63).

LAST TIME OUT
Senior Kendall Hinze (Lewisberry, PA/Red Land) led four Colonels in double figures pouring in a season-high 28 points and grabbing 14 rebounds as second seeded Wilkes University held on for a 103-98 overtime win over third seeded Eastern University Wednesday night at the Marts Center.

Wilkes held a 63-57 advantage with just under nine minutes left when Hinze scored and was fouled completing the three-point play. Eastern answered as Collin Whipple tied the game at 66 with a mid-range jumper with 6:33 left in regulation. A three-pointer from Paul Huch (Tuckerton, NJ/Pinelands Regional) gave Wilkes the lead back, but it was short-lived as Eastern's Alex Nelson answered with a trey of his own to tie the game for the sixteenth time with 4:45 left. A Hinze layup in the post gave Wilkes a 73-71 lead with 1:46 to play in the second frame, but the Eagles answered on their next possession with a Whipple driving layup to tie the game setting up the final thirty seconds of regulation.

After a Wilkes turnover, Whipple struck again giving Eastern a 75-73 edge with :50 on the clock. Jourdon Wilson (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) went coast–to-coast tying the game at 75 with :19 remaining for one last Eagles possession. The Wilkes defense was up to the task holding Eastern to a tough fall-away jumper at the buzzer that fell off the rim sending the game into the extra session.

The extra period saw Wilkes open the game up outscoring the Eagles 28-23 over the five minute span. A layup by Wilson followed by a deep trey from Huch gave the Colonels some breathing room up 86-81 with 2:21 remaining. An old-fashioned three-point play from Jeremy Hartman (Little Egg Harbor, NJ/Pinelands Regional) opened the game up giving the Colonels an eight point lead they would never relinquish. Wilkes finished the game going 14-of-18 from the charity stripe to seal its place in the championship tilt on Saturday, the first time the Colonels have reached the title game since 2005-06.

Hinze was a force inside the entire contest finishing 8-for-13 from the field and 12-for-16 from the line. Of his 14 boards, 10 came on the defensive end in 43 minutes of action. He now stands with 992 career points entering the title game Saturday. Huch followed with 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting battling foul trouble throughout. Wilson added 17 tallies and four assists, while Matt Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) contributed 15 points and four helpers in 43 minutes of play.

Nelson led the Eagles with a game-high 31 points including several deep three-pointers. Whipple followed with 28 points and six rebounds, while Michael Donantoni and Martin Soaries added 14 points each in their final games at Eastern.

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 41.3 percent (111-269) from the field and 81.6 percent (80-98) from the charity stripe. Huch and Hinze have controlled the paint combining for 30.6 ppg and 15.4 rpg.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Hinze, in his second year as a full-time starter, 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 62.7 percent (138-220) from the field (1st in Freedom).

He saved his seasons' best on Wednesday in Wilkes semifinal win over Eastern pouring in 28 points while grabbing 14 rebounds, his sixth double-double of the year. Hinze also went for 26 points and 10 rebounds at Eastern two weeks ago. He 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. He currently stands with 992 career points, needing just eight to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

MR. VERSATILITY
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 15.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg (team-high). Huch has reached double figures in 19 of 25 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 on Feb. 14.

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 10.8 ppg and 2.6 apg in 26.7 mpg reaching double figures in 14 of 25 contests.

BACKCOURT RESERVES
Tyler Breznitsky (Freeland, PA/MMI Prep) continues to provide a spark off the bench this season averaging 6.8 ppg, hitting on 38.0 percent (27-71) 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 7.2 mpg, while Richardson averages 7.3 mpg including three 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 3.6 ppg in 15.6 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 363-160 (.694) 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 211-53 (.799) 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 10-2 at home this year with wins over PSU Hazleton, Baptist Bible, Misericordia University, PSU Wilkes-Barre, Delaware Valley, FDU-Florham, Manhattanville, King's, Eastern, and Lebanon Valley.

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