Four Finish in Double-Figures as Wilkes Men's Basketball Defeats Manhattanville 91-87
PURCHASE, N.Y. – Tommy Bowen (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) finished with a career-high 26 points to lead four players in double-figures as the Wilkes University men's basketball team defeated Manhattanville College by a 91-87 final in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play on Saturday afternoon.
The Colonels improved to 2-0 in conference play and 7-1 overall with the victory.
Both teams matched buckets through the initial two minutes with Wilkes leading 6-4 after a Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) layup. The Valiants converted a layup of their own to tie the score at 17:57, starting an 8-0 run, taking a 14-6 lead with 16:29 showing on the clock.
The Colonels retook the lead following a Drake Marshall (Gainesville, VA/Patriot) three-pointer at the 14-minute mark to take a 17-16 advantage, but Manhattanville went on another 8-0 run to go up 25-17 with 12:43 left in the half.
Wilkes was able to keep the score close as consecutive three-pointers from Connor Evans (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) and Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) tied the score at 50 entering halftime.
The Colonels scored the first four points of the second half on layups by Bowen and Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) before the Valiants hit a three to cut the advantage to one.
Robinson hit another shot from distance to give Wilkes a four-point advantage at 59-54 and 17:26 showing. Following the shot, Manhattanville rolled off a 10-0 run to take a 64-59 lead just over a minute elapsed. The Colonels battled back with two Mullins layups to cut the deficit to one.
Wilkes began to pull away with a 14-4 run to go up 77-68 with 9:44 remaining in the game, forcing the Valiants to call a timeout.
The Colonels remained in front the rest of the way, but Manhattanville would not go down without a fight. Wilkes expanded its lead to four at 88-84 after Evans hit the back end of two free throws, but the Valiants hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to one with 47 seconds remaining. Evans went on to hit one-of-two free throws with 21 second on the clock and Mullins converted two free-throws of his own with seven seconds left to seal the game.
Bowen added seven rebounds to go with his point total. Mullins finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, Rob Pecorelli (Huntington, NY/Harborfields) added 13 points and seven rebounds, and Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) contributed 10 points seven rebounds, and eight assists, tying his career high set last season at FDU-Florham.
Manhattanville was led Sean Smith, who finished with 46 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, the only Valiant to finish in double-figures.
Wilkes dominated in the paint with 54 points while holding Manhattanville to 32. The Colonels shot 55 percent (33-60) from the floor.
Wilkes returns to the floor on Tuesday, December 18th when it will host Albright College for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference game at the Marts Center.
