WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University men's basketball team was defeated 83-70 in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom action against Eastern at the Marts Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Colonels fell to 1-3 in MAC Freedom play and 7-8 overall.

Eastern started the game on a 9-0 run, and pushed its lead to 31-9 with 4:25 left in the half before Wilkes finished the first half on a 16-6 run to pull within 37-25 entering the break.

The Colonels cut the lead to 10 at the 12:30 mark at 51-41, but were unable to get any closer. Wilkes finished the game on a 13-1 run, highlighted by two jumpers and three-pointer from senior Casey Evans (Cicero, N.Y./Bishop Grimes).

Sophomore Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional) led the way for the Colonels, finishing with 16 points. Senior Zach Brunner (Mechanicsburg, PA/Mechanicsburg) added 15 points and seven rebounds while freshman Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) totaled 10 points and six rebounds.

Senior Shaquan Turk led the way for the Eagles, finishing with a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Austin Carroll added 15 points and sophomore Austin Duncan contributed 14 points.

Wilkes returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to DeSales for an 8 p.m. MAC Freedom matchup.