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Wilkes-Barre, PA (February 18, 2014) – The DeSales University men's basketball team equaled its best defensive effort of the season holding Wilkes University to just 47 points in a 51-47 win over the Colonels, clinching the top seed and home court advantage throughout the Freedom Conference Tournament on Tuesday evening at the Marts Center.

The Bulldogs (16-8, 10-3 Freedom) lock up the Regular Season Championship and have now won six straight games since the calendar turned to February.  The win is also the ninth straight for the Bulldogs at the Marts Center.  The 47 points allowed are tied for the lowest allowed all season after DSU also surrendered just 47 in the season-opening win over PSU-Harrisburg.

Senior Mike Coleman led the way with 14 points, while junior Travis Bryan added 11 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks and senior Kyle Hash finished with 10 points and seven boards.  Sophomore Cody Deal added eight points.

Wilkes had just one player in double digits, Steve Stravinski, with 15 tallies, on four three-pointers.

The first-half was a defensive battle as neither team shot well.  After Wilkes' Tyler Jackson hit a three to start the game, DSU scored seven straight points to open up a 7-3 lead and never trailed the rest of the half.  The Bulldogs led by as many as seven points (24-17) with 2:38 left before a three from WU's Nic Wilkins made it four-point game (24-20) at the half.

A lay-up from Bryan and a three from Coleman pushed the lead back up to six points early in the second-half before the Colonels scored six straight points to tie the game at 29.  The game see-sawed back and forth over the next several minutes as DeSales clung to a one-point lead (43-42) with 5:18 remaining.

Bryan hit one free throw to make it a two-point game and after a stop and turnovers from both teams, Coleman hit a short pull-up jumper in the lane to make it a 46-42 game with 4:13 to go.

One free throw from Hash was followed by a lay-up from Wilkes' Jeremy Hartman with 2:52 to go before the two teams combined for four missed shots and three missed free throws over the next 1:17 that ended with Hash getting a long rebound and racing down the court to convert a fast break lay-up giving DSU a 49-44 cushion with 1:31 remaining.

Wilkes answered with a bucket at the other end and after a missed triple from Coleman, the Colonels' Brendan Sheldon was sent to the line but he could only hit 1-of-2 and Deal sealed the win at the other end hitting two freebies as a Wilkes three was long as the buzzer sounded.

DeSales finished the game shooting 36.7 percent from the field as compared to just 33.3 percent shooting for the Colonels.  DSU controlled the glass, out-rebounding Wilkes, 41-32, for the game.

The Bulldogs conclude the regular season on the road when they travel to Eastern University for a Freedom Conference game beginning at 4:00 pm.  The Freedom Conference Tournament gets underway next week on Wednesday as the Bulldogs will enter as the top seed and host the #4 seed which will be determined after Saturday's games.