Merrifield Shines as Wilkes Men's Basketball Takes Down Elizabethtown 82-63
WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes men's basketball team returned to the Marts Center and didn't disappoint in their first home game of 2024. The Colonels' tremendous shooting and quick ball movement led the team to a 82-63 victory in their Landmark Conference matchup against Elizabethtown College on Saturday afternoon.
The win advanced the Colonel's overall record to 11-2. They now stand at 4-2 in conference play. With the loss, Elizabethtown fell to 4-9 on the season and 1-5 in conference play.
Cayden Merrifield (Scranton, PA/West Scranton) got the scoring started for the Colonels with a layup under the basket to give Wilkes an early 2-0 lead.
Matthew Davidheiser (Reading, PA/Exeter Township) was fouled on a drive to the hoop and sank both shots from the line, extending the early Wilkes run to 7-2 with three and a half minutes gone in the first half.
Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) made his first appearance on the scoresheet when he shielded the ball from a swarm of Blue Jay defenders and banked a shot off the backboard. Lesko's bucket put the Colonels in double digits with an 11-7 lead.
Lesko continued to shoot the ball well, draining the first three pointer of the game from the far side of the court. His deep ball brought the Elizabethtown deficit to nine points with Wilkes ahead 16-7 at 13:09.
After a 7-2 run by the Blue Jays,
Colin Ackerman (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) swung momentum back in the Colonels' favor by draining a three-ball from downtown.
Merrifield remained dangerous with the ball, knocking down his second trey of the afternoon. He followed with a pair of baskets in the paint, giving the junior seven points in three consecutive possessions. Merrifield's efforts kept Wilkes in the driver's seat with a 28-21 lead.
Zachary Gula (Walnutport, PA/Northampton) continued the Colonels' fiery start from beyond the arc with a deep ball of his own, followed closely by Lesko's second trey of the game. With three minutes remaining in the first half, Wilkes had shot 40 percent from behind the arc and possessed a 38-21 advantage.
With roughly 30 seconds to go in the first half of action, Lesko hit his third shot from deep and expanded the Wilkes lead to 17 points; their largest lead of the game.
As time expired in the first frame of play, Wilkes held firm control of a 45-29 lead. The Colonels shot 50 percent from the field and an impressive 46 percent from deep. Elizabethtown was 41 percent from the floor and knocked down one of four three-pointers. Lesko led all shooters in the first half with 14 points, while
Trent Fisher (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) snagged seven rebounds.
Fisher got the Colonels on the board in the second half with an arcing layup that found its way through the twine.
After a long series of defensively-driven possessions for both squads, Wilkes finally broke through with another two points from Lesko in the paint.
After Ackerman made a mid-air rebound above the baseline to save possession for Wilkes in their own zone, he eventually drained the first three-ball of the second half on the next possession. His shot brought the Colonels to 60 points on the afternoon. The hosts still held a 22 point advantage over the Blue Jays with just under nine minutes to go in regulation time.
A late possession full of efficient passing by Wilkes was capped by a Gula layup under the hoop. He went on to score seven consecutive points, highlighted by a corner three that electrified the crowd at the Marts Center.
The Colonels maintained an impressive lead for the duration of the game and claimed victory in the contest by a score of 82-63.
Merrifield led all players on the court with 24 points while draining four threes on the afternoon. He also recorded a pair of steals. Lesko followed closely behind with 20 points and five rebounds. Fisher led the team with eight rebounds of his own. Gula was a perfect 2-2 from beyond the arc.
EJ Finney topped all Blue Jay scorers with 15 points and nine boards. Rance Russo and Dylan Rowe each put up 14 points of their own. Russo shot 60 percent from the floor while Rowe knocked down a pair of three-pointers.
The Colonels return to the Marts Center on Tuesday, January 9 when they host Drew University. Tipoff against the Rangers is slated for 7:00 p.m.
