SCRANTON, Pa. – An 11-0 run over a 2:19 stretch of the second half proved to be the key moments in the game as the Wilkes University men's basketball team knocked off No. 24 the University of Scranton 52-45 Sunday afternoon at the John Long Center. The Colonels handed the host Royals their first ever defeat in the Cross County Challenge after Scranton was a perfect 13-0 in the tournament against Wilkes and King's.

Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) recorded a double-double in the victory with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He was named to the All-Tournament team after also scoring 23 points and grabbing seven boards against Marywood on Saturday.

Wilkes has now improved to 4-1 this season while Scranton fell to 2-3.

The Colonels started the game by opening up a 7-0 lead in the first 4:06 behind a dunk by Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) and a three-pointer and layup by Robinson. A Robinson layup late in the first half sent the teams to the break tied at 19.

With Wilkes trailing 30-28 Robinson made a layup to tie the score with 14:06 left. Jack Bova (Camillus, NY/West Genesee) followed with a three-pointer and then Mullins converted on two free-throws. Mason Gross (Pittston, PA/Pittston) then made back-to-back layups to cap off the 11-point run to make the score 39-30 with 11:47 left.

The Colonels would never allow the Royals to get closer than four points the rest of the way and opened up a nine point lead four more times. Wilkes converted on 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:40 to help hold down the lead.

Mullins scored a team-high 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. Zach Brunner (Mechanicsburg, PA/Mechanicsburg) scored four points and collected a season-high nine rebounds. He also contributed three assists and two blocks. Gross put in a season-high 10 points off the bench including a jumper with 4:39 left on the clock to put Wilkes back up by six points.

The Colonels held a 22-10 advantage in the paint and outrebounded Scranton 42-28.

Wilkes continues non-conference play when it travels to Madison, N.J. Wednesday to face Drew University at 7:00 p.m.