Wilkes University Athletics

THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE WILKES UNIVERSITY COLONELS

THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE WILKES UNIVERSITY COLONELS WILKES UNIVERSITY COLONELS

Steve Finkernagel

Tyler Breznitsky scored 15 points against Manhattanville Saturday

SECOND HALF SURGE LIFTS MANHATTANVILLE OVER WILKES 69-65

1/12/2013 5:34:00 PM

Box Score

SECOND HALF SURGE LIFTS MANHATTANVILLE OVER WILKES 69-65

WILKES-BARRE – Jack Bramswig scored a game-high 24 points as visiting Manhattanville College erased a seven point halftime deficit to post a 69-65 Freedom Conference victory over Wilkes University Saturday afternoon at the Marts Center.

Wilkes falls to 7-7 overall and remains winless at 0-4 in league games. Manhattanville improves to 8-7 on the year, and evens its Freedom mark at 2-2 after four games.

Wilkes started the game rolling offensively taking its largest lead of the half at 21-14 when Tyler Breznitsky (Freeland, PA/MMI Prep) hit a baseline jumper with 6:58 left in the frame. The Colonels continued to ride the hot shooting of Breznitsky as the junior connected on another jumper followed by an Alec Wizar (Lebanon, PA/Annville Cleona) bucket to keep the lead at seven, 25-18.

The Valiants cut the deficit to one using a 6-0 spurt, but Colonel leading scorer Chris Shovlin (Kingston, PA/G.A.R.) buried back-to-back shots to give Wilkes a 31-24 lead heading into the break.

Manhattanville wasted little time gaining their edge defensively and offensively in the second stanza using pressure defense to cause several Wilkes miscues. Five straight points from Manhattanville's Wills Flynn and a dunk from Bramswig tied the game at 36 with 16:05 on the clock.

The Valiants took their first lead of the game on a put-back layup, but Wilkes responded when Shovlin found Pat Furst (Jamison, PA/Central Bucks West) underneath for two tying the game at 52 with 5:56 remaining. After Wilkes took a slim two-point advantage with less than three minutes to go, Manhattanville's Anthony Maestre canned a deep corner three-pointer to give the Valiants the lead back for good.

After a Wilkes costly turnover with one minute left, Manhattanville used most of the clock before a Bramswig bucket up the advantage to four, 64-60 with :35 left. Two Maestre free throws sealed the conference win after the Colonels were unable to score on their final two possessions.

Breznitsky led the way with a team-high 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Shovlin followed with 11 points, three rebounds, and eight assists. No other Colonel reached double figures in the game as Wilkes shot 52.0 percent (26-50) from the field.

Bramswig added nine rebounds to go with his 24 points. Maestre followed with 12 points and five assists, while Craig Augustine added 11 points and three boards. Manhattanville held a 34-26 advantage on the glass including 12 offensive rebounds leading to 14 points.

Prior to the game, Shovlin was honored with his 1,000 point ball after eclipsing the century mark early in the month.

Wilkes hosts cross-town rival King's College Wednesday in what may be a must win game if the Colonels try to make a playoff push in the second half of conference play. Gametime is set for 8:00 p.m. at the Marts Center.

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