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Center Valley, PA (December 3, 2011) – Wilkes University shot 57.7 percent for the game and 65.5 percent in the second half, out-scoring the DeSales University men's basketball team, 22-11, over the final 8:25 to earn a 77-60 win over the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon in a Freedom Conference game in Billera Hall.

The win is the second straight for Wilkes (5-1, 2-0 Freedom) in Billera Hall and overall after DeSales (2-4, 0-2 Freedom) had won 12-straight in the series prior to the win late last season by the Colonels.

Junior Brett Moyer led the Bulldogs with 16 points and nine rebounds, while freshman Ryan Griffin added nine points in his first career start and freshman Jake Hungarter returned to the lineup and gave DSU a boost off the bench with eight points and four rebounds.

The inside tandem of seniors Paul Huch and Kendall Hinze terrorized DeSales with a combined 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting from the field, nine total rebounds, and six blocked shots.  Huch also added five assists and two steals.  Senior Matt Mullins had 12 points including two clutch three's in the second-half and junior Tyler Breznitsky led the charge off the bench with nine points.

The first-half was a typical Wilkes/DeSales battle that featured four ties and six lead changes.  Five straight points early gave DSU a 14-9 edge before a quick 8-0 Colonel run gave the visitor's a 17-14 lead.  DeSales regained the lead 18-17 before Wilkes took control and led 31-24 with 1:58 to go before four straight points to end the half pulled the Bulldogs within three (31-28) at the break.

It was back-and-forth again over the first 12 minutes of the second-half.  Wilkes was slowly pulling ahead and led 49-40 with 10:59 to go before a three-pointer from Hungarter and a driving lay-up from freshman Michael Guldin pulled DSU within five, 53-48.

The next two minutes seemed to seal the Bulldogs fate as a loose ball on the next Wilkes possession saw a wild scramble at mid-court as Breznitsky finally found the handle and tossed the ball to a wide open Hinze who threw down a two-handed dunk.

Moyer went to the hoop hard on the next DSU possession and was fouled, making 1-of-2, but after an offensive rebound on the second freebie, sophomore Kyle Hash let go on a three-pointer from the left corner with a chance to regain the momentum and cut the lead to three points but his shot went long and Wilkes responded with a 7-0 run to pull ahead by 13 points and DSU got no closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Wilkes was 19-of-29 from the field in the second-half and took very good care of the ball, committing just 10 turnovers for the game to go along with 16 assists.  The Bulldogs shot 40.4 percent from the field and controlled the glass, out-rebounding the Colonels, 36-25, but committed 17 turnovers, leading to 24 Colonel points on the other end.

DeSales gets a few days off before returning to action on Wednesday, December 7th with a non-conference game at Catholic University beginning at 7:00 pm.