WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes men's basketball team wrapped up their 2023 home slate with a high-scoring 83-77 victory over Juniata College on Saturday afternoon at the Marts Center.

The win improved the Colonels' overall record to 7-1. They stand at 3-1 in the Landmark. Juniata fell to 5-3 on the season and 2-1 in conference.
 
Trent Fisher (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) continued his hot stretch by scoring the first two buckets of the day for Wilkes. He added a steal with 16:58 to go in the first half, which allowed Matthew Davidheiser (Reading, PA/Exeter Township) to knock down a long-range three. His trey gave the Colonels a 9-2 lead.
 
From there, Juniata would go on a 7-2 run to knot the game up at 11-11. Fisher stopped the Eagles' streak after picking up a pass from Davidheiser and finishing the layup at the hoop.
 
Colin Ackerman (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) made his first appearance on the scoresheet at 10:57 when he drained a three to put the Colonels up by a score of 16-13.
 
Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) took Ackerman's cue, hitting a shot from downtown on the next possession and expanding the Wilkes lead to five. Ackerman responded with a second three-pointer as the Colonel advantage grew to six.
 
Joey Zvorsky (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) was fouled as he hit a layup under the basket, drawing the and-one foul. Following the made free throw, the team held a 32-23 lead with 6:09 remaining in the first half.
 
From the Zvorsky and-one, Wilkes would go on a 9-2 scoring run that winded the game clock down to under four minutes.
 
The Colonels finished the first half in firm possession of a 40-34 lead. The team shot 59.3 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from behind the arc.
 
The teams traded buckets during the opening stage of the second half. With exactly 16 minutes to go in the half, Wilkes still held control of a 50-40 lead.
 
Jack Argento (Hershey, PA/Hershey) electrified the Marts Center crowd as he was fouled on a driving layup to pick up the and-one. He finished his three-point play at the line as the Colonel lead grew to 11 points.
 
Ackerman delivered a nifty bucket inside the paint after driving towards the hoop and rolling the ball off his right hand. His layup bumped the Wilkes lead to 14 with nine and a half minutes to go in regulation.
 
The pace of play remained high as the game entered its latter stages with both teams trading baskets. Juniata made a late push to get back into the game, scoring a crucial and-one bucket to cut the Eagles' deficit to eight. After the missed free throw, the Colonels maintained a 76-68 lead with 1:29 to go.
 
Juniata began fouling off of inbounds with under a minute left on the clock in the hopes of regaining possession quickly, however they were unable to complete the comeback. When the final buzzer sounded, Wilkes claimed victory by a score of 83-77.
 
Lesko finished the day with a team-leading 20 points, four rebounds, a pair of assists, one block and one steal. Fisher posted an 18 point, eight rebound performance while shooting 80 percent from the field. Ackerman was a perfect two-for-two from behind the arc while Zvorsky knocked down 70 percent of his free throws.

Chase Husted led the Eagles with a game-high 23 points, including his one thousandth career point. The senior tacked on 13 boards to his impressive performance. Mason Hardy tallied 17 points and shot 75 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The Colonels return to the court on Monday, December 18 when they travel to Clarks Summit University. Tip-off against the Defenders is slated for 7:00 p.m.