WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes University men's basketball team fell just short of the Landmark Conference Championship Saturday night against Susquehanna, falling to the No. 6 River Hawks 76-72.
The Colonels finish as runner-ups in the Landmark with a final record of 18-10, while the River Hawks improve to 16-12 and advance to the DIII NCAA Tournament as the automatic qualifier.
The first half of this game was very evenly matched as neither team led by more than six points after 20 minutes of action.
Wilkes took a four-point lead (12-8) at the 14:34 mark after a layup from Jack Argento (Hershey, PA/Hershey), but Susquehanna responded with a 7-0 run powered by Mario Castro-Sanchez to take a three-point lead two minutes later.
The River Hawks increased that lead to six (24-18) with 7:29 remaining in the half after another Castro-Sanchez jumper, but the Colonels tied the game 28-28 thanks to 10-straight points from Eli Becker (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) and Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton). In the final seconds of the half, Lesko hit a three at the buzzer to make it 35-32 Wilkes at halftime.
With this momentum, the Colonels went on a 15-7 run during the first six minutes of the second half to take an 11-point lead, their largest lead of the game. Wilkes led 50-39 with 14:37 to go, but the River Hawks cut the deficit to three after three-straight buckets from Audric Washington with 11:17 on the clock.
However, the Colonels were unfazed and increased the lead back up to 11 (62-51) after a 12-4 run. That put the hosts in the driver seat with 6:08 remaining, but Susquehanna rallied with some of their best basketball of the tournament down the stretch.
They closed out the game on a 25-10 run as the Wilkes offense went cold from the field and turned the ball over multiple times. Washington got the ball rolling with some clutch layups, Brandon Lavitt connected from the mid-range and free throw line, and Mikey Cumbo hit six-straight free throws to ice the Colonels.
Washington was named Landmark Tournament MVP with a final stat line of 21 points and nine rebounds on 10-19 shooting. Lavitt was the team's second-leading scorer with 15 points on 6-13 shooting, and the Susquehanna bench stepped up with 22 points.
Meanwhile for the Colonels, Becker was their leading scorer with 18 points on 8-13 shooting, Lesko finished with 17 points and seven boards of his own, and Argento posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. However, they got zero points from the bench and went just 5-11 (45.5%) from the free throw line compared to Susquehanna's 68% (17-25) from the charity stripe.
That marks the end of the Colonels' 2025-26 season, while the River Hawks look forward to the Selection Show on Monday, March 2, at 1 p.m. to see who and where they will be playing.
