SALEM, Va. – The Wilkes University men's basketball team returned to the court after the holiday break with a physical 74-68 victory over Gettysburg College in the opening round of the Cregger Invitational hosted by Roanoke College at the Cregger Center.

Wilkes improves to 6-3 overall on the year, while Gettysburg falls to 4-6 on the year.

The Colonels took advantage of a slow start by the Bullets, taking a 10-2 lead early in the first half. A 6-0 run brought Gettysburg back within a possession 10-8, but Wilkes fired back with a seven-point run of their own to take a 17-8 lead with 13:48 left to play in the half.

A 16-6 Gettysburg run saw the Bullets tie the game at 23 and take the lead on a free throw with 6:14 left to play in the period, a lead they would narrowly hold at the half 34-33.

Wilkes opened the second half much like they did the first, scoring the first 11 points to regain the lead 44-34 with 17:20 to play. Eli Becker (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) contributed nine of those points, including a half-opening trey.

Gettysburg closed the lead once more over the next four minutes, closing the game within a possession 48-46. The Colonels pushed the lead out again with three straight buckets, but the Bullets didn't go away and tied the game at 54 with seven minutes to play. After a Jack Argento (Hershey, PA/Hershey) layup, a three by Lorenzo Carrara gave the Bullets their first lead of the half, adding another to extend the lead out to 60-56 with just over five and a half minutes to play.

Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) punctuated an 8-3 run over the next two minutes of play with a layup and one to give Wilkes the lead once more 64-63. Gettysburg kept the game within a possession and tied it once more at 68 with 1:14 to play, but a Becker tip-in with 50 seconds left maintained the Colonel lead and four successful free throw attempts sealed the victory 74-68.

Becker led the Colonels with 20 points on 7-12 shooting while posting a team-high nine rebounds as well, followed by Lesko with eight. Colin Ackerman (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) led the team with four assists. The entire Colonel starting five reached double-digit points on the day.

Aidan Mess led the Bullets off the bench with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Caleb Gillus led all players with six assists.

The Colonels now head to the championship game of the Cregger Invitational and are set to face the No. 13 ranked host Roanoke College. Tip-off against the Maroons is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.