Lycoming led only once in the contest, that coming on a three-pointer by Kevin Morris with 16:51 left in the first half that made it 7-5. Less than a minute later Wilkes point guard Matt Gould knocked down a three of his own to give the Colonels the lead for good, 8-7.
After another Gould three-pointer made it 11-7, Lycoming’s Ricky Varnell scored inside to cut the lead to 11-9 with 11:42 left in the half. That is as close as the Warriors would get the rest of the way.
Tom Kresge began a decisive 17-4 run with five straight points that extended the gap to 16-9. After the Colonels’ Steve Kline traded baskets with Varnell to make it 18-11, John Kelly cashed in a three-pointer to up the lead to 21-11 with 6:43 showing on the clock.
David Wilson countered for the Warriors with a basket to pull his team within 21-13. However, Kelly and Kline hit back-to-back field goals and Kresge converted a traditional three-point play to provide Wilkes with a 28-13 edge at the 4:18 mark. The Colonels, thanks to a Kresge three-pointer as time expired, headed into the locker room with a 36-19 lead.
The Wilkes lead would grow to 44-25 with 14:37 left on a bucket by Anthony Gabriel. Lycoming would then score ten consecutive points to climb to within 44-35 with 10:49 left. Greg Sye hit two free throws and Jemayne Nowlin connected on a long-range attempt to get the Warriors within 44-30. After Sye hit two more free throws, David Wilson cashed in a three-pointer to make it a nine-point game.
The Colonels would end any thoughts of a Lycoming comeback by scoring the next seven points. Kline scored six points during the run, including two free throws at the 6:28 mark that made it 51-35. The Warriors would not get closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
Kresge had a game-high 20 points to lead three Wilkes players in double-figures. Kline added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Gould had 14 points and four assists. Wilkes out-rebounded Lycoming by a 36-29 margin and held the Warriors to just 18.8 percent shooting (3-of-16) from three-point range.
Wilson was the only Lycoming player to reach twin digits, finishing with 11 tallies. Sye, who came into the game averaging 17.3 points, was limited to only eight points, while Morris, who was popping in 14.3 points per game, was held to only six tallies.