HAZLETON, Pa. – The Wilkes University men's basketball team put forth a complete team effort on Friday evening, defeating Penn State Hazleton 109-43 by shooting 58 percent (36-62) from the field while holding the Nittany Lions to just 26 percent (14-54).

Wilkes set the program record for a single-game with 20 made threes as the team shot 20-for-47 from beyond the arc in the contest with nine different players contributing to the number.
 
The Colonels improved to 2-0 with the victory.
 
Wilkes started the contest on a 20-4 run capped by two three-pointers from Sean Coller (Hershey, PA/Hershey).
 
Penn State Hazleton closed the gap to 33-18, with 4:21 left in the first half as the Colonels outscored the Nittany Lions 11-7 the rest of the way. Wilkes held a 44-25 lead as the two teams headed into the halftime break.
 
The Colonels came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, outscoring Penn State 34-2over the first nine-and-a-half minutes, leading 78-27 with just over ten minutes left in the game. From that point, Wilkes cruised to the victory.
 
Trent Fisher (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) and Cayden Merrifield (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) led the way for Colonels with 14 points each. Fisher added seven rebounds while Merrifield had two steals. Sean Coller (Hershey, PA/Hershey) finished with 13 points and four rebounds while Drake Marshall (Gainesville, VA/Patriot) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.
 
Nick Ruggeri led the Nittany Lions with a game-high 15 points while Colin Johnson added 10 points.
 
The Colonels return to the court on Wednesday when they travel to the University of Scranton for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference game.