Mullins and Heiserman Lead as Wilkes Men's Basketball Defeats Stevens
WILKES-BARRE – Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) and Derek Heiserman (Lansdale, PA/North Penn) lead the way as the Wilkes University men's basketball team defeated Stevens Institute of Technology 58-55 in a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) thriller on Saturday afternoon at the Marts Center.
This was the first conference matchup between the two programs as Stevens joined the league over the summer.
The Colonels are now 8-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Mullins opened up the scoring in the first minute of the game with a layup to give Wilkes an early 2-0 lead. The Ducks responded with a 14-4 run including two three-pointers to give them a 14-6 lead just over six minutes into the game.
A Rob Pecorelli (Huntington, NY/Harborfields) three-pointer brought the Colonels to within five at the 13:46 mark, making the score 14-9.
Stevens would then go on a 7-3 run to increase their lead to 21-12 before Wilkes answered with an 11-4 run, keyed by six points from Heiserman bringing them within two points of the Ducks at 25-23 with five minutes left to play in the half.
Both teams would continue to exchange baskets the remainder of the first 20 minutes with Stevens holding a one-point advantage going into halftime with the score at 31-30. Both Mullins and Heiserman reached double-figures for points in the first half.
Mullins opened up the scoring in the second half with a three-pointer, which was shortly followed by a layup from the Ducks to tie the game at 33. From there, the Colonels went on a 12-4 run, including two three-pointers from Sean Coller (Hershey, PA/Hershey) to give the colonels a 45-37 lead at the 12:35 mark.
The Ducks began to cut the lead midway through the second half as they got to within three points of Wilkes with just over seven minutes left to play. Donovan Breeding (Manassas, VA/Osbourn) came up big for the Colonels, drilling a three-pointer, which was assisted by Jake Robel (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex), increasing Wilkes' lead to six.
Stevens cut the Colonel lead all the way down to 1 point at the 2:54 mark, but Pecorelli came through in the clutch as he made four consecutive free throws to give the Colonels a five-point cushion.
After the Ducks made a pair of free throws to make it a one-possession game, Stevens got a stop on defense and called timeout with 16 seconds left on the clock to try to set up one final play to tie the game. Wilkes was able to stop the Ducks from scoring as Coller corralled the game-sealing rebound for the Colonels.
Mullins led Wilkes with 18 points and five rebounds, while Pecorelli added nine points and five rebounds. The Colonels received some much needed help off the bench from Heiserman and Breeding who added 14 and eight points respectively, with Heiserman also contributing five rebounds.
Alec DiPietrantonio had a game-high 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Ducks.
Wilkes returns to MAC Freedom action on Wednesday evening when they host DeSales University at the Marts Center, with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
