WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University men's basketball team closed out the first half of its Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) schedule with a big 80-70 win at cross-town rival King's College on Wednesday evening.

The Colonels improved to 8-10 overall, 3-4 in MAC Freedom play after the third victory in their last four games.

Wilkes started the game on a 12-3 run over the first seven minutes, punctuated by three-pointers from Alec Wizar (Lebanon, PA/Annville Cleona) and Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional). The Monarchs responded with a 16-2 run of their own over the next six minutes to secure their largest lead of the game at five, 19-14, with 7:19 remaining in the first half. The Colonels closed the first half on a 23-9 run to enter halftime up 37-28.

King's got the Wilkes lead down to six at 44-38 with 15:38 in the second half, but the Colonels responded in a big way with a 19-6 run to push their lead to 19, the largest of the game, at 63-44 following a three-pointer from Clay Basalyga (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) with exactly nine minutes left in the game.

The Monarchs attempted to mount a comeback, outscoring Wilkes the rest of the way, but the Colonels lead would never fall to single digits the rest of the way.

Wilkes was led by Wizar, who scored a season-high 27 points, shooting six-of-12 from the field, including four-of-eight from three-point range and 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Wizar also finished with seven rebounds and three assists while playing all 40 minutes. Zachary Brunner (Mechanicsburg, PA/Mechanicsburg) tied his season-high with 17 points on 90 percent (eight-of-nine) shooting and nine rebounds, while Robinson added 13 points and three assists. The Colonels shot 52 percent (27-for-52) from the field in the game, and dominated the boards, winning the rebound battle 50-22.

King's was led by Tom Heston, who finished with 18 points. Dan Rutecki added 13 points while Jake Barber totaled 17 points off the bench.

Wilkes returns to action on Saturday when it will host Manhattanville College in MAC Freedom action following the women's game, with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Marts Center.