Second Half Comeback Falls Short as Wilkes Men's Basketball Battles King's
WILKES-BARRE – A second half comeback by the Wilkes University men's basketball team fell short as the Colonels fell to King's College 75-72 in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) action from the Marts Center on Wednesday evening.
The Colonels are now 1-4 in league play and 8-8 overall.
Wilkes started the contest on an 8-2 run over the first four minutes on three-pointers from Rob Pecorelli (Huntington, NY/Harborfields) and Sean Coller (Hershey, PA/Hershey) plus a layup from Derek Heiserman (Lansdale, PA/North Penn)n.
The Colonels led 11-6 with 14:39 on the clock but King's used a 9-0 run to take the lead at 15-11 with 11:44 remaining in the first half.
After Donovan Breeding (Manassas, VA/Osbourn) hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 20, the Monarchs finished the first on an 18-6 run, holding a 38-26 advantage and held a 44-35 lead through the first 20 minutes.
Wilkes got the scoring started in the final half with a layup from Heiserman assisted by Bradley Anacreon (Nesconset, NY/Sachem North).
The Colonels were able to cut the deficit to two at 9:28 after a three-pointer from Pecorelli, and a Nickerson DeMelfi (Newbury Park, CA/Newbury Park) free-throw made it a 65-64 score 20 seconds later.
A Jake Robel (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) layup with 7:38 remaining gave Wilkes its first lead of the half at 66-65, but King's found itself leading 74-70 with one minute left in the game.
Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) converted a layup to make the score 74-72 with 52 seconds on clock. After a Monarch turnover with 21 seconds left following a Coller steal, Breeding found himself open for three with 12 seconds on the clock, but was unable to convert.
Mullins pulled down the offensive board on the play leading to a timeout with nine seconds remaining. Mullins took the inbound pass at the top of the key and drove the basket but lost control as he went up with King's coming away with possession and the victory.
Heiserman led Wilkes with 14 points to go with 11 rebounds including four on the offensive end. Pecorelli finished with 12 points while Mullins added 10 points, five rebounds, and six assists.
Andrew Hudak led all scorers, pacing the Monarchs with 27 points and nine rebounds. Jake Pawliczak totaled 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Kevin Hunter added 14 points off the bench.
The Colonels return to action on Saturday when they travel to FDU-Florham for a 3:00 p.m. MAC Freedom contest.
