WILKES-BARRE- Four Colonels' finished in double-figure point totals as the Wilkes University men's basketball team defeated Summit University by an 82-60 final in its season opener at the Marts Center on Tuesday evening.

The Colonels improved to 1-0 with the win while the Defenders are now 0-3 on the season.

With the Colonels leading 15-14 and 10:25 remaining in the first half, Wilkes used an 18-4 run capped off by Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional)'s three-pointer with 4:05 on the clock to push the Colonels lead to 15, the largest of the half, at 33-18. Wilkes went into halftime with a 37-27 lead.

The Colonels found their offensive rhythm in the second half, starting a 15-2 run that ended with 7:56 remaining in the game to push the lead to 20 at 65-45. The lead did not fall below 15 the rest of the game, as Wilkes used a 10-1 run in the last five minutes to extend its lead to 26, the highest of the game, at 82-56 with 1:15 on the clock.

The Colonels were led in double-figures by Steve Stravinski (Pittston, PA/Pittston), who opened his senior campaign with a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds. Also leading the charge was Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional), who contributed 17 points and five steals in his first collegiate contest. Rounding out the scoring attack was Alec Wizar (Lebanon, PA/Annville Cleona)'s 14 points and four assists to open his senior season and Clay Basalyga (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights), who added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds in his first collegiate game.

Summit was led by Abe Valentine, who netted 18 points. Dan Decker added 11 points and Dwayne Felder contributed 12 points off the bench. Adam Brinkley added a game-high nine rebounds for the Defenders.

Wilkes added 24 points off of Summit turnovers, and had a 47-35 advantage on the boards leading to a 14-9 lead in second chance points.

The Colonels return to action on Friday when they travel to Annville, Pa. to take on Rowan University in the Lebanon Valley Tournament at 6 p.m.