Wilkes Men's Basketball Opens Season with Big Win at PSU-Hazleton

HAZLETON, Pa. – Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley), Rob Pecorelli (Huntington, NY/Harborfields), and Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) all finished in double-figures for scoring to lead the Wilkes University men's basketball team to an 80-60 win at Penn State Hazleton to open its 2018-19 campaign on Tuesday evening.

The Colonels now stand at 1-0 on the season.

Penn State Hazleton held a one-point lead at 10-9 just over four minutes into the game before Wilkes spent the next nine minutes on a 22-6 run to jump out 31-15 with 7:26 left until halftime.

The Colonels lead began to shrink as the Lions finished the half on a 13-5 run, but Wilkes entered the break up 36-28.

Penn State got the first points of the second half on a free throw and layup to cut the lead to five, but the Colonels then went on a 16-6 run to extend its lead back to 16 points at 52-36 with 11:35 on the clock capped by a three-point play by Mullins.

The Lions cut the lead to single-digits after a three-pointer to make the tally 52-43, capping a 7-0 run over two minutes. Wilkes put the contest away over the remainder of the game, outscoring Penn State 28-17 to cruise to the victory.

Mullins finished with a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds. Pecorelli added 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists while Robinson contributed 15 points.

Andy Kwiatkowski led the Lions with 15 points in 30 minutes off the bench while Shay Nelson finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Wilkes dominated in the paint 44-26 and turned 17 turnovers into 22 points.

The Colonels return to action on Friday when they travel to Lebanon Valley College for the Rinso Marquette Tournament, where Wilkes will face Bethany College at 6:00 p.m.