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Wilkes University Athletics

THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE WILKES UNIVERSITY COLONELS
THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE WILKES UNIVERSITY COLONELS WILKES UNIVERSITY COLONELS
Steve Finkernagel
54
King's College KINGSM 10-8,3-4 Freedom
59
Winner Wilkes University WUMB 9-9, 4-3 Freedom
King's College KINGSM
10-8,3-4 Freedom
54
Final
59
Wilkes University WUMB
9-9, 4-3 Freedom
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
King's College KINGSM 25 29 54
Wilkes University WUMB 24 35 59

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Wilkes Pulls Out Big Freedom Conference Victory 59-54 Over Rival King’s

Wilkes Pulls Out Big Freedom Conference Victory 59-54 Over Rival King's
 
WILKES-BARRE, PA – In a tight contest throughout the entire evening Wilkes was able to make a few more plays as they upended River Street rival King's College 59-54 on Wednesday evening. 
 
The Colonels sit 9-9 on the season and improve to 4-3 in the Freedom Conference.  The Monarchs slip to 10-8 overall with the loss and 3-4 in the Freedom Conference.
 
Wilkes jumped off to a quick 6-0 lead sparked by two Tyler Jackson (Cresskill, NJ/Cresskill) buckets and a Zachary Brunner (Mechanicsburg, PA/Mechanicsburg) layup.  Both teams were amped up for the game and struggled early as the crowd was chaotic at times with the Wilkes student section loud and proud.  King's settled into the game at the 16:08 mark when they scored their first bucket of the game.  Two foul shots later they trimmed the lead to two at 6-4 with just under 15 remaining in the half.  Wilkes responded with an 8-4 run that put them up 14-8 at the 11:43 minute mark. 
 
Despite trailing by six King's made an 8-0 run to take a two point lead.  Tim O'Shea scored six points capped off by a jumper with six minutes to go in the half for the Monarchs.  Alec Wizar (Lebanon, PA/Annville Cleona) stopped the bleeding with a big three-pointer to give the Colonels the 17-16 advantage.   On the next Monarchs possession Dan Rutecki nailed a big jumper and was fouled in the process, sinking the ensuing foul shot to give them a 19-17 lead.  Connor Hugh scored a layup to extend the King's lead to 21-17 before Steve Stravinski (Pittston, PA/Pittston) knocked down a big time three for the Colonels trimming the lead to 21-20 with 2:44 remaining in the half.  Rutecki made two foul shots with 0.7 seconds on the clock to give King's a 25-24 lead at the break.
 
King's jumped out to a 12-7 run to start the second half giving them a six point lead their largest of the game with 14:40 remaining on the clock.  Wilkes answered with a 6-0 spurt thanks to two layups from Cameron Hinkel (Millerstown, PA/Greenwood) and a Jeremy Hartman (Little Egg Harbor, NJ/Pinelands Regional) drive to the rack.  Trailing 43-37 Wilkes went on a 15-2 run that set the roof on fire and the fans in a tizzy at the Marts Center.  Brunner and Hinkel scored four points and Stravinski capped the run with a big offensive rebound a put back to give the Colonels a comfortable 52-45 lead with five minutes remaining in the contest.  The Monarchs trimmed the lead to three with :08 seconds on the clock and fouled Wizar on the ensuing inbounds pass.  Wizar stepped up to the line and nailed the one-and-one sending the Colonels to the big 59-54 Freedom win.
 
Wizar led all scorers with 19 and five made three-pointers.  Hinkel scored 11 and grabbed six boards with Brunner chipping in at 10 points and five boards.  Wilkes shot 39.7 percent (23-58) from the field and 26.1 percent (6-23) from three-point range.
 
Rutecki led King's with 14 points and five boards. Chris Fazzini had nine points three boards and his brother John dumped in eight points and collected five boards.  The Monarchs shot 34% (18-53) from the field and did not make a single three-point shot (0-9).  They did most of their damage at the foul line making 18-out-of-22 (81.8 percent).
 
Wilkes heads to Purchase, N.Y. on Saturday to take on Manhattanville College in a Freedom Conference tilt.  Tip-off is slated for 3:00 p.m.
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