WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes University men's basketball team won their third Landmark Conference game in a row against the Moravian University Greyhounds 86-73 Saturday afternoon thanks to a season-high 34 points from Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton).
The Colonels improve to 11-6 (6-4) with the win, while the Greyhounds fall to 11-6 (5-5) with the loss. Wilkes also improves to 8-1 at home this season.
The Greyhounds led 9-6 early thanks to back-to-back threes from Chad Kratzer and Porter Kelly, but the Colonels went on a 15-4 run to lead by eight (21-13) with 10:15 left in the half.
Lesko and Colin Ackerman (Manasquan, NJ/Wall Township) combined for 11 of those 15 points, but Moravian's hot shooting kept the game from getting out of hand.
Marquis Ratcliff and Dylan Costa each connected from beyond the arc to put the visitors back on top 28-27, and then both teams traded buckets, fouls, and free throws until the Greyhounds took a 41-38 lead into the locker room.
The Greyhounds shot 43.8% (7-16) from three in the first half, and early in the second half it looked like that trend would continue with another Ratcliff three just a minute into the half. However, Wilkes turned a 49-44 deficit into a 61-52 lead with 11:01 to play thanks to a 17-3 run.
Lesko, Ackerman, and Eli Becker (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) scored all of Wilkes' points during that run, and they all kept that momentum going for the rest of the game.
Moravian stopped the bleeding temporarily with a layup and one from Steve Conway, but then the Colonels went on another huge 17-5 run to make it 78-60 with 4:24 remaining. Every member of the starting five made a field goal during that stretch, and from there Wilkes went on to win.
For the game, the Colonels shot 53.1% from the field, while holding the Greyhounds to just 39.1% shooting from the field. They also outrebounded the Greyhounds 42-30.
Lesko had his best of the season with 34 points and eight rebounds on 13-20 shooting. Eli Becker (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) notched a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Ackerman commanded the offense with 16 points, five rebounds, six assists, and five steals. As for Moravian, Kratzer led the team in scoring and rebounding with 21 points and six rebounds on 6-10 shooting. Meanwhile, Ratcliff was held to just 16 points and two rebounds on 6-16 shooting.
The Colonels hit the road for their next game against the Lycoming College Warriors on Wednesday, Jan. 28 with the matchup scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
