Second Half Push Falters as Wilkes Men's Basketball Drops High-Scoring Contest to Delaware Valley
WILKES-BARRE – A late second half push closed the gap to as close as four points but the Wilkes University men's basketball team dropped a 99-90 Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) game to Delaware Valley University at the Marts Center on Wednesday evening.
The Colonels fell to 4-3 in the league and 12-6 overall.
Wilkes was able to build a small lead when it started the game on a 9-4 run featuring back-to-back layups from Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley).
Delaware Valley (9-9, 5-2 MAC Freedom) erased that lead with a 17-4 run to take a 21-13 advantage with 13:13 showing on the first half clock. The Colonels responded with a 13-6 run of their own capped off by a Jack Bova (Camillus, NY/West Genesee) three-pointer to cut the deficit to one at 27-26 with 7:39 remaining until halftime.
The Aggies entered halftime with an 11-point lead, finishing the first half on an 18-8 run to hold a 45-34 advantage through the first 20 minutes.
Delaware Valley maintained a double-digit lead for the first ten minutes of the final half, but Wilkes began to turn the momentum in its favor when Marcus Robinson (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) nailed a three-pointer and was fouled, completing the four-point play with 9:24 on the clock to cut the score to 70-62. After a layup from Lybrant Robinson, Robinson hit yet another three-pointer to slash the deficit to six points at 72-66 with 8:18 showing.
The Aggies pushed their lead back to 11 at 77-66 with a 5-0 run. A Tommy Bowen (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) layup and resulting free throw cut the lead back into single digits followed by a Robinson layup inched the Colonels closer at 77-71 before Delaware Valley hit two free throws to regrow the deficit to eight with 5:46 remaining, beginning an 8-4 run that pushed the Aggies to a 10-point lead at 85-75 with just over four minutes left to play.
Wilkes responded with a Robinson free throw followed by layups from Robinson and Rob Pecorelli (Huntington, NY/Harborfields) to get the score to 85-80 and just under three minutes showing. Mike Cianciulli pushed the deficit back to seven at 87-80 with a fast-break layup the next time up the floor but Pecorelli matched the Aggies actions with a fast-break layup at 2:32 before the Colonels called a timeout.
Alex Mastinye was only able to hit the back end of his two free throws following a foul on Delaware Valley's next possession to make the score 88-82 before Mullins made a layup with an assist from Connor Evans (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) as Wilkes faced a four-point hill with 2:09 left.
Cianciulli and Robinson both hit shots on each team's respective next possession to keep the distance at four, but Damian Washington converted a layup on the Aggies next trip with the Colonels unable to match as the score sat at 92-86 and under a minute remaining.
Cianciulli went five-of-six from the line to seal the game in favor of Delaware Valley.
Mullins led Wilkes 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor to go with seven rebounds. Pecorelli added 23 points and seven rebounds while Robinson (17 points, six rebounds, four assists) and Bowen (15 points, five rebounds, four assists) rounded out the scorers in double-figures for the Colonels.
Washington led the Aggies with a game-high 26 points and five rebounds. Cianciulli added 19 points, Mastinye contributed 12 points, six rebounds, and three assists, and Damani Myers provided 11 points. Robinson came off the bench to finish with 22 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes.
Wilkes returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Eastern University for a MAC Freedom game scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off in St. David's, Pa.
