WILKES-BARRE – 11 players registered a basket with four Colonels finishing in double-figures as the Wilkes University men's basketball team treated a full student section to an 83-77 win over cross-town rival King's College on senior day at the Marts Center on Saturday afternoon. The victory clinched the number four seed in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) tournament for the Colonels, their first trip since 2011-2012 when Wilkes reached the MAC Freedom championship.

The Colonels finish the regular season 13-12 overall and 8-6 in MAC Freedom play.

The Monarchs led for the first seven minutes of the game with their lead never surpassing five. Wilkes took its first lead of the game with 11:18 remaining in the half when Tommy Bowen (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) hit a three to make the score 20-18. King's tied the score three times, but following a Zachary Brunner (Mechanicsburg, PA/Mechanicsburg) layup to make the score 26-24 with 6:35 on the clock the Colonels held the lead for the rest of the half, entering the break with a 43-36 lead.

King's started the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 45-43 lead with 17:43 remaining in the game, but Wilkes responded with a 12-4 run of their own to make the score 55-49 with 13:24 left. Both teams matched shots for the next 10-plus minutes with the Colonels unable to stretch their lead past seven. With Wilkes leading 74-67 and 3:49 on the clock, the Monarchs commenced a 7-1 run to close the Colonels lead to 75-74 with 2:08 remaining. Steve Stravinski (Pittston, PA/Pittston) hit a clutch three-pointer, his only points of the game, to key a game-ending 8-3 run to give Wilkes the win and wrap up the Colonels spot in the postseason tournament.

The Colonels were led by Zachary Brunner (Mechanicsburg, PA/Mechanicsburg), who came off the bench for the just the second time this year and finished with his third career double-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists. Alec Wizar (Lebanon, PA/Annville Cleona) totaled 17 points and three assists, Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional) finished with 11 points, and Clay Basalyga (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) was a sparkplug off the bench, contributing 11 points in 19 minutes.

King's was led by Chris Fazzini, who finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Dan Rutecki (20 points), Tom Heston (10 points, eight rebounds), and John Fazzini (10 points) all finished in double figures for the Monarchs.

Wilkes begins the MAC Freedom tournament on Wednesday at top-ranked DeSales with tip-off scheduled for 8 p.m.