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 advance to the NCAA Tournament as the automatic qualifier.

The first half of this game was as evenly matched as it could get. 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 to take a three-point lead two minutes later.

The River Hawks increased that lead to 24-18 with 7:29 remaining after a Mario Castro-Sanchez jumper, then the Colonels tied the game 28-28 at the homestretch of the first half. In the final seconds of the half, Lucas Lesko (Northampton, PA/Northampton) 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 their largest lead of the game. Wilkes led 50-39 with 14:37 to go, but Wilkes 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) thanks to a 12-4 run. That put the home team back on top with 6:08 remaining, but then the River Hawks responded with some of their best basketball of the tournament.

Susquehanna closed out the game on a 25-10 run as the Wilkes offense went cold from the field and turned the ball over. Washington got the ball rolling with some clutch layups, and Mikey Cumbo hit six-straight free throws to ice the Colonels.

Washington was named Tournament MVP with a final stat line of 21 points and nine rebounds on 10-19 shooting. Brandon Lavitt was the team's second-leading scorer with 15 points on 6-13 shooting.

Meanwhile for the Colonels, every member of the starting five scored 10 points or more, but they got zero points from the bench compared to Susquehanna's 22 points.

That marks the end to the Colonels' 2025-26 season and they will return to the court late in the fall of 2026.