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DALLAS — One could forgive the guys on the Wilkes bench if they were holding their breath.

Yes, the Colonels managed to contest Griffin Sponaugle’s last-minute 3-pointer. But Misericordia had hit so many from behind the arc that it felt like every shot might fall.

Not this one.

Wilkes weathered an incredible long-range shooting performance by the Cougars and put up 50 points in the second half to rally for a 90-85 win on Saturday at the Marts Center.

“I thought we played our best offensive half of the year,” Wilkes coach Izzi Metz said after the Colonels went 21 for 37 from the floor after halftime to notch their fifth straight win.

They needed it. Heading into the final minute of the game, Misericordia had knocked down 15 for 26 from behind the arc before missing the last two tries as the Colonels held on.

Wilkes earned a split of the season series with Misericordia and moved a game ahead of the Cougars in the Freedom Conference tournament race with four games left.

Just like the first time the two teams met, it was a pair of freshmen who led the way. Wilkes’ Marcus Robinson scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half while shooting 10 for 14 from the field.

Cougars leading scorer Jason Kenny finished with 23 points and seven assists. With time winding down in the second half, Kenny scored 10 straight points for Misericordia as the score went back and forth.

“They just wanted it more,” said Willie Chandler, who was named the Cougars’ full-time coach earlier in the week after serving five months under an interim tag. “Their seniors and Robinson, they didn’t want to lose.

“It took them making big plays. Robinson made some big shots down the stretch and we turned the ball over. We couldn’t box out. … That’s all there is to it. They wanted it more.”

All five of Wilkes’ starters finished in double figures with Connor Evans (17 points), Zach Brunner (12), Steve Stravinski (11) and Alec Wizar (10) all playing big roles. Seniors Stravinski and Wizar both had six rebounds for the Colonels (11-10, 6-4).

Misericordia had scorched Wilkes from long range in the first half, hitting 9 for 17 3-pointers, including a perfect 5 for 5 showing from D.J. Marlow (15 points) off the bench. Strong play in the paint by Cougars big man James Hawk (15 points) in the early going helped open things up on the perimeter.

The Cougars (11-10, 5-5) led by as many as 18 points in the opening 20 minutes and took a 46-40 lead into the locker room following a last-second three from Tanner Reyan.

“To their credit, they came out on fire,” Metz said. “I said to our guys, ‘Hey, they shot great in the first half — hopefully they don’t have that in the second half.’ I thought we were starting to get into an offensive rhythm. I could sense that in the last 10 minutes of the first half.

“I felt like if we just stayed with the game plan, eventually, good things would happen. We’d start making shots ourselves and start getting stops.”

That’s exactly what happened. The game would be close the rest of the way, with Wilkes finally breaking on top at 68-66 with 8:26 left. The lead would change four more times from there, with Robinson’s jumper at the 2:50 mark putting Wilkes in front for good.

“I thought it was two evenly matched teams,” Metz said. “I knew we’d get back into the game.”

Lady Colonels win

Haley Mesaros’ jumper with 1:38 left gave Wilkes the lead and the Lady Colonels’ defense closed it out from there to upend Misericordia 64-61 in the first game of the doubleheader.

It was the first Freedom Conference win of the season for the Lady Colonels, who snapped a five-game losing streak.

Wilkes didn’t allow the Cougars to get off a shot on their two possessions in the final minute and Catey McFadden hit two free throws to make it a three-point game.

Jamie Campbell led Wilkes with 14 points. Emily Sofranko scored 13 and came up with six steals.

Misericordia’s Japriya Carroll finished with a game-high 18 points while Justin Seely turned in a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds, adding six blocks.

MEN

Wilkes 90, Misericordia 85

WILKES (90) — Connor Evans 5-11 4-5 17, Marcus Robinson 10-14 1-1 24, Alec Wizar 4-10 0-0 10, Steve Stravinski 4-10 3-4 11, Zach Brunner 6-11 0-0 12, Tommy Bowen 0-0 0-0 0, John Goffredo 0-0 0-0 0, Clay Basalyga 1-3 0-2 2, Quinlin Parsons 3-3 0-0 6, Zach Walser 4-7 0-0 8. Totals 37-69 8-12 90.

MISERICORDIA (85) — Alec Rodway 1-4 2-2 4, Jason Kenny 7-14 7-9 23, Griffin Sponaugle 4-7 0-1 11, James Hawk 6-8 3-4 15, Erik Kerns 3-9 0-0 8, D.J. Marlow 5-6 0-0 15, Tanner Reyan 1-1 0-0 3, Earl Chang 0-1 0-0 0, Tyler McGarry 2-3 0-0 6. Totals 29-53 12-16 85.

Halftime — Misericordia, 46-40

3-point goals — WU 8-23 (Evans 3-6, Robinson 3-6, Wizar 2-6, Basalyga 0-2, Stravinski 0-3); MU 15-28 (Marlow 5-5, Sponaugle 3-5, McGarry 2-3, Kenny 2-6, Kerns 2-6, Reyan 1-1, Rodway 0-1, Chang 0-1)

WOMEN

Wilkes 64, Misericordia 61

WILKES (64) — Emily Sofranko 6-11 0-0 13, Cara Basile 1-8 3-4 5, Jamie Campbell 4-8 4-6 14, Haley Mesaros 3-11 0-0 7, Catey McFadden 4-8 2-2 12, Missy Oertner 2-6 0-0 5, Sarah O’Hara 0-0 0-0 0, Emelie Meinhart 0-1 2-2 2, Ashley Caster 2-4 0-0 4, Emily Sutton 1-4 0-2 2. Totals 23-61 11-16 64.

MISERICORDIA (61) — Japriya Carroll 7-12 0-0 17, Leanne Forsyth 4-5 0-0 8, Liz Waleski 1-2 2-2 5, Shannon Croasdale 1-7 0-0 3, Justine Seely 4-9 3-4 11, Jaclyn Hajec 0-1 0-0 0, Rachel Carmody 4-11 1-2 10, Nikki Baro 2-6 1-2 5, Alexa Plitt 0-1 2-2. Totals 23-54 9-12 61.

Wilkes`18`21`16`9`—`64

Misericordia`13`18`19`11`—`61

3-point goals — WU 7-21 (Campbell 2-5, McFadden 2-6, Oertner 1-2, Sofranko 1-3, Mesaros 1-5); MU 6-18 (Carroll 3-7, Waleski 1-2, Carmody 1-3, Croasdale 1-4, Baro 0-1, Plitt 0-1)

By Derek Levarse

[email protected]

Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse