WILKES-BARRE – Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) fired in a game-high 26 points and Daniel Santaniello (Roaring Brook Twp., PA/Scranton Prep) added 18 points to lead the Wilkes University men's basketball team to a 75-45 Landmark Conference victory over No. 21 University of Scranton Wednesday night in the Marts Center.
 
Wilkes improved to 10-6 overall and 5-4 in league games following the home conference win. The lopsided victory also marked the sixth straight win for the Colonels against Scranton dating back to the 2023-2024 season. Scranton dropped just its second game this season standing 14-2 overall and 7-2 in conference contests.
 
The Colonels got out to a strong start thanks to the play of Santaniello and Lesko who scored 24 of Wilkes' 35 first half points. A layup from Colin Ackerman (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) gave Wilkes an 11-3 lead forcing a Scranton timeout with 16:42 on the clock. Santaniello kept the offense going with a three-pointer three minutes later and followed with a jumper as the Colonels led 18-5 with 10:47 left in the first half. The Wilkes advantage grew to as many as 16 points with just under six minutes left in the half as Lesko hit back-to-back buckets in the paint. Scranton had a pair of transition scores late to cap off both teams scoring in the first frame.
 
Wilkes offensive onslaught continued in the second half as the Colonels started the second frame on a 16-8 run including two scores from Lesko and another three-pointer from Santaniello. Wilkes put pressure on the Scranton defense forcing the Royals to foul sending Wilkes to the bonus with over ten minutes on the clock. There, Wilkes finished 21-for-30 outscoring Scranton by 13 points from the charity stripe thanks to its attacking the rim offense.
 
The advantage ballooned to as many as 31 points with just under four minutes left to play before both teams emptied their benches for the remainder of the contest.
 
Lesko finished 10-for-18 from the field and 5-for-6 from charity stripe on way to his best outing of the season. Santaniello was 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-5 from long range. Jack Argento (Hershey, PA/Hershey) enjoyed a fine all-around game finishing with eight points and nine rebounds while Eli Becker (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) contributed 10 points and five boards.
 
Scranton shot just 16-for-51 from the floor in the game topped by Sammy Tornabene's 12 points and six rebounds.
 
Wilkes is back in Landmark action Saturday hosting Moravian University at 12:00 p.m. at the Marts Center.