CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. – The Wilkes University men's basketball team opened the 2021-22 season in big fashion, traveling to Clarks Summit University for a 111-78 win on Wednesday evening.
 
The Colonels improved to 1-0 on the season.
 
Clarks Summit got the first two buckets of the game before Wilkes went on a 13-0 run to jump out to a 13-4 lead with over 12 minutes remaining until halftime aided by four points apiece from Jake Robel (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) and Trent Fisher (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge).
 
The Colonels dominated the remainder of the half as they entered halftime up 51-28.
 
Wilkes led by as many as 41 in the second half as it cruised to the season-opening victory.
 
Fisher, the reigning Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) Rookie of the Year, began his season with a big game, finishing with a game-high 23 points, missing a double-double by one rebound, grabbing nine. Robel added 18 points and eight rebounds and Nickerson DeMelfi (Newbury Park, CA/Newbury Park) contributed 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc with six rebounds, both off the bench. Matthew Davidheiser (Reading, PA/Exeter Township) finished with 14 points while Jackson Shafer (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
 
Ashton West led the Defenders with 20 points while Isaiah Coleman added 11 points and Francisco Rodriguez contributed 10 points.
 
Wilkes turned 35 Clarks Summit turnovers into 35 points, got 16 second-chance points while allowing three, and outscored the Defenders in the paint 48-36.
 
The Colonels finished the game shooting 48.8 percent (42-86) from the field and 44.8 percent (13-29) from three-point range.
 
Wilkes returns to the court on Friday when it travels to Penn State Hazleton for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference contest.