WILKES-BARRE – The offense was firing on all cylinders for the Wilkes men's basketball team as they defeated the University of Scranton 68-48 on Wednesday night at the Marts Center. Four players reached double-digit point totals for the Colonels in their first-ever Landmark Conference matchup.
 
With the win, the Colonels improved to 5-0 on the season and entered conference play at a perfect 1-0. This also marks the best start to a season that the program has had since 2000-01. The loss dropped the Royals to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in the Landmark.
 
Scranton came out of the gate hot from behind the arc, hitting both of their first two three-point attempts. The Royals jumped out to a 6-2 lead before a Joey Zvorsky (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) and-one pulled the Colonels within one point.
 
From there, Wilkes rattled off seven consecutive points to claim a 12-6 lead. They would not trail again for the remainder of the game.
 
The Royals were forced to call a timeout after Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) made a strong drive to the paint, shielding the ball from a pair of Royal defenders and finessing the ball off the glass and through the twine. With exactly 11 minutes remaining in the first half, the Colonels led 18-8.
 
Both offenses seemed to stall for roughly two minutes of play, as neither team could get the ball to fall their way. That streak was broken when Trent Fisher (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) sent Zvorsky a bounce-pass through traffic. The senior guard finished the play at the basket.
 
The Colonels and Royals went up and down the court trading scoring opportunities for the final minute of play in the first half. Cayden Merrifield (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) put an exclamation point on the first half with a driving layup that gave Wilkes a ten point lead heading into halftime.
 
After 20 minutes, the Colonels were shooting just over 48 percent from the floor. Lesko led the team with nine points and two assists in the first half. Cameron Khoza put up six points for the Royals.
 
Lesko picked up right where he left off in the second half, draining a pair of threes to pad the Wilkes lead. He then blocked a layup attempt under the hoop, which the Colonels transitioned into a fast-break bucket by Merrifield. He took a trip to the line after being fouled on the drive, which he sunk to complete the three-point play.
 
Lesko would continue his hot streak by draining a trey ball to electrify the Marts Center crowd. The three gave him 11 points in the half and gave Wilkes a 50-34 advantage.
 
Colin Ackerman (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) made his presence on the court known when he picked off a pass and flew down the court. Unguarded, he easily finished the layup to extend the Wilkes scoring run to 6-0.
 
With the game firmly in the control of the Colonels, head coach Izzi Metz opted to empty his bench in the final two minutes of play. The players on the floor made the most of their opportunity, as Drew Sechleer (White Haven, Pa./Crestwood) nailed a three-ball to produce the final points of the night for Wilkes.
 
Lesko made huge contributions on the floor for Wilkes, dropping 22 points, five rebounds and two assists. The sophomore was consistent from three-point range as well, shooting 4-6 from downtown. Merrifield put up 16 points while Zyvorsky followed with 11 of his own and an impressive field goal percentage of 71.4. He also shared team lead in rebounds with Fisher with both players securing seven boards on the evening.
 
Jon Spatola drove the Scranton offense with nine points. Matthew Hanley collected seven rebounds.
 
The Colonels return to the court on Saturday, December 2 when they travel to Catholic University. Tip-off against the Cardinals is slated for 2:00 p.m.