ST. DAVID'S, Pa. – The Wilkes University men's basketball team outscored Eastern University 17-10 in overtime to earn its fourth straight win and fifth in its last six games after defeating the Eagles 97-90 on Wednesday evening.

The Colonels improved to 10-10 overall and 5-4 in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play with the victory.

Eastern hit its first three shots of the game to take a 6-0 lead through the first 90 seconds. The Eagles led for most of the first half until the Colonels turned a 38-33 deficit into a 42-38 lead in the span of two minutes following three pointers from Clay Basalyga (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights), Alec Wizar (Lebanon, PA/Annville Cleona), and Steve Stravinski (Pittston, PA/Pittston). Wilkes entered the half with a 44-43 lead.

 Eastern outscored the Colonels 15-7 through the first six minutes of the second half to take a 58-51 lead. Wilkes responded with a 9-0 run of its own to take a 60-58 lead with 11:24 remaining. The Eagles retook the lead and pushed it to as much as six, but the Colonels battled back to tie the score at 80 with 2:06 remaining.  Wilkes outshot Eastern five to one in the final two minutes, but neither team was able to convert and the game remained tied at the end of regulation.

The Colonels shot 40 percent (two of five) from the floor in overtime and converted all 12 free throw opportunities to secure the victory.

Wilkes was led by Wizar, who finished with 26 points while playing all 45 minutes. Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional) totaled 23 points, while Stravinski and Connor Evans (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) added 10 points each with Evans also adding a career-high nine assists. Basalyga contributed a career-high 16 points in 22 minutes off the bench for the Colonels.

The Eagles were led by Shaquan Turk, who totaled 20 points and four assists. Tarek Hamzeh totaled 19 points and five rebounds while Malcolm Garrison added 15 points. Austin James contributed 11 points in 24 minutes off the bench.

Wilkes out-rebounded Eastern 41-31and shot 50 percent (15 of 30) from three-point range for the game.

The Colonels return to action on Saturday when they travel to Misericordia for a 3 p.m. MAC Freedom game.