BALTIMORE, Md. - The Wilkes University men's basketball team bounced back with a win over the Goucher College Gophers 70-56 Saturday afternoon on the road.

Wilkes improves to 9-6 (4-4) with the win, while the loss drops Goucher to 4-11 (1-7).

The Colonels trailed for much of the first half thanks to the Gophers going 6-17 from beyond the arc, compared to the Colonels shooting just 1-8 from three. 

The first three made field goals for Goucher were all from downtown as they led 9-6 after six minutes of action. Wilkes didn't take their first lead of the game until a Colin Ackerman (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) layup with 10:48 left in the first half put the Colonels on top 12-11.

The Gophers would take their largest lead of the game soon after with a 10-4 run to lead by five (21-16), but the Colonels closed the half on an 11-5 run to lead 27-26 at the break thanks to balanced scoring from the starting lineup.

In the second half, Wilkes blew the game open. The team shot 56% from the field and went 6-9 from three, while holding Goucher to just 34.4% shooting from the field and 3-13 from three.

Jack Argento (Hershey, PA/Hershey) and Eli Becker (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) got the ball rolling with back-to-back layups to start the half, and Ackerman and Daniel Santaniello (Roaring Brook Twp., PA/Scranton Prep) came alive from beyond the arc. Overall, the Colonels kept the lead for the entire second half, and led by double-digits for the final 6:56 of game time.

Ackerman and Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) led the Colonels in scoring with 16 points each, and both shot 6-11 from the field. Ackerman also led the team with four assists, while Argento led the team in rebounds with eight. Santaniello (14) and Becker (12) also contributed with double-digit outings as the starting five scored 58 of Wilkes' 70 points.

Meanwhile for Goucher, Darnell Morris led the team in scoring with 14 points on 6-14 shooting and grabbed four rebounds. Liech Kong was right behind him with 11 points and six rebounds on 3-8 shooting.

The Colonels return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. for a huge Landmark Conference matchup against Scranton at the Marts Center.