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WILKES-BARRE — For a moment, it looked like Tyliek Kimbrough had lost track of the shot clock.
The Delaware Valley guard started to set his offense in the final minutes of a tie game against Wilkes on Wednesday. But when the bench gave a yell that he had just a few seconds left, the Aggies’ leading scorer improvised.
With a defender on him, Kimbrough pulled up behind the arc and launched a three that gave his team the lead for good in a 69-65 win over the Colonels at the Marts Center.
“We need to get better defending late in the shot clock,” Wilkes coach Izzi Metz said. “This is the second game in a row where a team has made some big shots with two seconds, one second, on the shot clock and they took it all the way down.
“We’ve gotta find a way to finish possessions. Compete and finish possessions off, particularly in the second half.”
Wilkes also lost a tight game against Manhattanville on Saturday when the Valiants hit a pair of late threes, with the winner coming with two seconds left on the shot clock.
Like on Saturday, the Colonels (7-7, 1-2 Freedom Conference) had a chance themselves at the end. But Delaware Valley’s defense held tough as Wilkes couldn’t get a driving layup by Marcus Robinson to fall for the tie.
“I was just trying to get a pick-and-roll for Zach Walser,” Metz said. “Their big kid, he didn’t really come out and I was thinking maybe Zach could get a shot right there.”
Instead, the Aggies were able to grab a rebound with two seconds left and ice the game from the foul line.
Robinson played a big role in helping the Colonels rally from 12 down in the second half, leading Wilkes with 17 points while adding six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Mark Mullins added a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds while Connor Evans had 11 points and five assists.
Wilkes had struggled to get into rhythm in the first half, going five-and-a-half minutes without a field goal, scoring just one point in that stretch.
But Delaware Valley couldn’t take advantage, turning in a rough 4-for-11 showing from the foul line before halftime, allowing the Colonels to pull within 26-25 at the break.
A brief Wilkes lead out of the locker room quickly dissolved with a 10-0 run by the Aggies that made it 38-29. The teams traded runs until the close ending as Delaware Valley shook off its free-throw woes by hitting final of the final six to win.
“We’re learning with some young guys,” Metz said. “That’s not an excuse. But they have to go through it. It’s hard. Winning is really hard.”
Eastern 112,
Misericordia 107
Up five with 12 seconds left, the Cougars saw the host Eagles stunningly hit two shots to tie the game before prevailing in overtime.
An Eastern three-pointer cut the lead to 97-95 with eight seconds left and Misericordia missed two free throws to set up the tying layup at the buzzer.
Tony Harding scored 36 points for the Cougars (10-4, 1-2). Tre Fields had 24 while Noah Rivera finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds and Alec Rodway had 12 assists. The Cougars played without leading scorer Jason Kenny.
FDU-Florham 77,
King’s 71
The visiting Devils shook off an 11-point halftime deficit, outscoring the Monarchs 49-32 in the second half.
King’s (4-9, 0-3) got a double-double from Dan Rutecki (19 points, 12 rebounds).
WOMEN
Misericordia 72,
Eastern 63
The Cougars (8-5, 2-1) got a career-high 19 points from guard Japriya Carroll to pull off the road win and top the team’s win total from last season.
Justine Seely had 13 points and nine rebounds as Misericordia held off a late Eastern charge in the final minutes.
Delaware Valley 75,
Wilkes 58
The visiting Aggies pulled away in the fourth quarter after the Lady Colonels got within seven.
Gianna Roberts and Ashley Caster each finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for Wilkes (4-9, 0-3) as the team shot 31 percent from the field.
FDU-Florham 69,
King’s 59
The Lady Monarchs forged a 31-31 halftime tie against the Devils before the 2014 national champs outscored them 24-11 in the third quarter to take control.
Kayla Feairheller had 14 points and nine rebounds for King’s (2-11, 0-3), while Olivia Hoffman finished with 12 points, eight boards and seven blocks in the game after she broke the program record for career blocks.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Delaware Valley 69, Wilkes 65
DELAWARE VALLEY (69) — Alex Matsinye 4-12 0-0 10, Tyliek Kimbrough 2-6 3-9 8, Andre’ Butler 5-13 5-7 18, Tyrea Williams 5-9 1-1 11, Mike Cianciulli 8-12 3-4 22, Austin Stoeckel 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Naccarato 0-0 0-0 0, JaDon Robinson 0-1 0-0 0, Daniel Paulson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 12-21 69.
WILKES (65) — Connor Evans 4-11 3-4 11, Marcus Robinson 5-13 2-2 17, Mark Mullins 5-11 4-8 15, Clay Basalyga 2-6 3-4 7, Zach Brunner 2-6 2-2 6, Rob Pecorelli 1-2 0-0 3, John Goffredo 0-0 0-0 0, Casey Evans 0-0 0-0 0, Johnny Bamford 0-0 0-0 0, Zach Walser 2-3 0-0 4, Mason Gross 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 22-55 14-20 65.
Halftime — DVU, 26-25
Three-point goals — DVU 9-17 (Butler 3-5, Cianciulli 3-6, Matsinye 2-5, Kimbrough 1-1); WU 7-21 (Robinson 5-9, Pecorelli 1-1, Mullins 1-6, Evans 0-1, Basalyga 0-1, Brunner 0-1, Gross 0-2)
