Wilkes Men's Basketball Falls in Conference Opener at Misericordia
DALLAS, Pa. – The Wilkes University men's basketball team fell in its Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) opener at Misericordia University by a 68-60 final on Wednesday evening.
The Colonels are now7-5 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
Misericordia started the game on a 7-2 run before Jake Robel (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) ended the slide with a baseline jumper at 17:47.
Wilkes tied the game at nine with a Rob Pecorelli (Huntington, NY/Harborfields) three-pointer as the shot-clock expired while Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) stole the following inbound pass and found Drake Marshall (Gainesville, VA/Patriot) for a wide-open layup, forcing the Cougars to call timeout with just over 14 minutes left in the first half as the Colonels took their first lead of the game.
The plays were part of an 11-2 run over 4:45 that took Wilkes from a 9-4 deficit to a 15-9 advantage
Misericordia tied the game with a 6-0 before Pecorelli gave the Colonels a lead with a three-pointer assisted by Donovan Breeding (Manassas, VA/Osbourn).
Both teams continued their scoring averages as the Cougars led 32-29 at halftime.
Misericordia started the second half on a 7-4 run to take a 39-33 lead with 16:36 showing on the clock.
Wilkes answered with a 5-0 run to cut the deficit at one, 39-38. Neither team was able to find the bottom of the net for almost two-and-a-half minutes, ending when Jake Bartholomew hit a three-pointer for the Cougars, responded 10 seconds later by a three-pointer from Nickerson DeMelfi (Newbury Park, CA/Newbury Park).
Misericordia opened up a nine-point lead with a 12-4 run, leading 54-45 and forcing the Colonels to call a timeout with just over eight minutes remaining in the contest. Pecorelli got Wilkes back in the scoring column with a three-pointer after the timeout.
The Colonels were unable to close the deficit as time expired.
Pecorelli led Wilkes with a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Mullins added 15 points and eight rebounds while Sean Coller (Hershey, PA/Hershey) contributed nine points.
Bartholomew led the Cougars with 17 points. Nate Kreitzer and Noah Rivera both contributed 16 points.
The Colonels return to action on Saturday when they will host Stevens Institute of Technology inside the Marts Center with tip scheduled for 3:00 p.m., the first MAC Freedom contest between the two programs.
