WILKES-BARRE – A balanced attack led to twelve members of the Wilkes University men's basketball team recording points on Wednesday evening inside the Marts Center. The Colonels took down Landmark Conference opponent Lycoming College in decisive fashion, defeating the Warriors 85-43 in the teams' final meeting of the regular season. 
 
The win improved Wilkes' record to 14-4 overall and 7-4 in Landmark competition. Lycoming fell to 6-12 on the season and currently stands at 2-9 in conference play.
 
Cayden Merrifield (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) got the scoring started for the Colonels just over a minute into the contest with a layup to put Wilkes up 2-0. The Colonels came out of the gate hot from the field, cashing in on their first eight shots of the evening.
 
Wilkes dominated the scoresheet through the first five minutes, outscoring the Warriors 19-5 and outrebounding them 9-3.
 
After a short lull in scoring, Joey Zvorsky (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) got the ball rolling once again with a hard-fought bucket inside the paint while he got double-teamed.
 
Shortly thereafter, Jack Argento (Hershey, PA/Hershey) knocked down a three from downtown to extend the lead to 17 almost midway through the first half. One Wilkes possession later, Zachary Gula (Walnutport, PA/Northampton) kept the three's flying with the team's third of the first frame.
 
Lesko was fouled on the way up for a layup and took a trip to the line for his troubles. He completed the three-point play to give the Colonels a 19-point lead with 7:12 to go in the half.
 
With less than five minutes left in the frame, Matthew Davidheiser (Reading, PA/Exeter Township) picked up a perfectly-placed pass from Trent Fisher (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) and banked a shot into the hoop to maintain Wilkes' hefty lead.
 
Lycoming made a late push to keep their deficit at 19 points, outscoring Wilkes 5-4 in the final 4:34 of the first half. After 20 minutes of play, the Colonels led 39-20.
 
The team shot 44.7 percent from the floor and hit a quarter of their shots from behind the arc. Zvorsky and Lesko shared the team lead in points with eight each. Fisher brought in six rebounds and two steals through 16 minutes on the floor.
 
Early in the second half, an unselfish pass from Davidheiser fell into the hands of Fisher, who fought through traffic in front of the rim and got his shot to fall.
 
At 15:34, Zvorsky was fouled on the way to the hoop for an in-transition bucket. After hitting both shots at the line, he was fouled on a second consecutive possession and drained two more free throws to put the Colonels up 51-30.
 
Merrifield sent the crowd at the Marts Center into a frenzy with a corner three, the team's fourth of the night. His bucket gave Wilkes a 56-30 lead; their largest up to that point.
 
Colin Ackerman (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) recorded his first points of the evening at 10:09 of the second frame with a nifty layup inside the paint to keep the Colonels in control of a 23-point lead.
 
It didn't take Travis Linn (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) long to find the scoresheet after checking into the game with seven minutes left in regulation. The first-year made a quick layup and followed the play up with a trey ball, giving him a quick five points in the contest. Wilkes jumped out to a 31 point lead thanks to Linn's efforts.
 
The Colonels continued to see point production from the bench through the remainder of the game, as Drew Sechleer (White Haven, Pa./Crestwood) and Caden Fisher (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) both got in on the action in the final two minutes of play and collected points.
 
C. Fisher's second steal of the game with six seconds left tied the game in a neat bow for the Colonels, who claimed an 85-43 victory in the contest.

Lesko and Zvorsky both tallied 12 points on the evening for the team lead. Lesko contributed four rebounds and a pair of blocks to the stat sheet, while Zvorsky shot a perfect 4-4 from the floor. Fisher finished the night with a game-high 10 rebounds, while Linn knocked down two late shots from behind the arc.
 
Lycoming saw 11 points come from Isaiah Valentine; the most out of any Warrior in the contest. The guard shot 50 percent from the floor and recorded two steals while Hayden Pardoe collected six boards.
 
The Colonels hit the road on Saturday, January 27 when they travel to Juniata College. Tipoff against the Eagles is slated for 2:00 p.m.