The Colonels (3-1 overall) placed four players in double figures, shot 50 percent from the field (31-for-62) and finished with a 50-28 edge in rebounding over the Crusaders (4-2), but nearly frittered away a 16-point second-half lead by committing 16 of their 28 turnovers on the evening following halftime.
Josh Robinson led the Crusaders with a game-high 24 points, including 22 in the second half, and added five rebounds and five steals while Kevin Cuff added 18 points and six rebounds in 37 minutes of action.
Wilkes led 53-37 with 13:12 remaining and held a 62-49 advantage with 9:04 to play, but Susquehanna rallied to within 65-60 with 7:01 to go on a layup by Zac Smith, who went 5-for-5 from the field and tied his career high with 14 points in 18 minutes off the Crusader bench.
The Colonels were able to restore a double-figure lead at 74-62 with 4:20 left, and still held a 10-point advantage at 77-67 with 2:35 to go before Robinson hit a three-pointer and slammed home a dunk off a steal to pull the Crusaders within 77-72 with 2:12 left.
Wilkes still had an 83-77 lead with 1:11 to play, but Robinson hit 3-of-4 foul shots and added a three-pointer around a Colonel free throw to cut the deficit to 84-83 with 35 seconds left, sending the Houts Gymnasium crowd into a frenzy.
Following two foul shots by Matt Gould, the Crusaders looked for the tie but a three-pointer was off the mark, and Chris Gulla sealed the win with a free throw with five seconds to play. Smith drilled a three-pointer as time expired to set the final score.
The Colonels led for most of the first half, and went to halftime with a 33-25 lead as Dan Adams led the way with eight points and seven rebounds, while Cuff paced the Crusaders with 12 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Steve Kline finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for Wilkes while Gulla added 11 points and five boards and Jeremy Kable scored 13 points for the Colonels, who finished 20-for-28 from the free-throw line in the contest.
Joel Patch finished with six points, five rebounds and seven blocked shots for the Crusaders, falling one block shy of the school record of eight set on two occasions. Susquehanna finished 9-for-25 from three-point range while the Colonels went 5-for-10 from beyond the arc.
WILKES 87, SUSQUEHANNA 86 WILKES (3-1) Tom Kresge 7-17 5-6 19; Steve Kline 7-13 2-3 16; Jeremy Kable 4-7 2-3 13; Chris Gulla 4-6 3-5 11; Matt Gould 2-5 5-7 9; Dan Adams 4-5 0-0 8; John Kelly 2-3 1-2 7; Anthony Gabriel 1-6 2-2 4. Totals 31-62 20-28 87. SUSQUEHANNA (4-2) Josh Robinson 5-15 12-15 24; Kevin Cuff 8-20 1-1 18; Zac Smith 5-5 2-3 14; Brandon Andersen 3-5 1-1 7; Joel Patch 3-11 0-1 6; Andy Gaebel 2-6 0-0 6; Brad Okonak 2-4 0-0 6; Chad Cohle 0-0 3-4 3; Bryan Majors 1-3 0-0 2; Matt McDevitt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-70 19-25 86. Wilkes........................ 33 54 - 87 Susquehanna................... 25 61 - 86 3-point goals-Wilkes 5-10 (Jeremy Kable 3-5; John Kelly 2-2; Matt Gould 0-1; Tom Kresge 0-2), Susquehanna 9-25 (Brad Okonak 2-3; Andy Gaebel 2-4; Zac Smith 2-2; Josh Robinson 2-8; Kevin Cuff 1-5; Matt McDevitt 0-1; Bryan Majors 0-1; Joel Patch 0-1). Fouled out--Wilkes-Dan Adams, Susquehanna-Josh Robinson; Bryan Majors. Rebounds-Wilkes 50 (Dan Adams 9; Tom Kresge 9; Steve Kline 9), Susquehanna 28 (Kevin Cuff 6). Assists-Wilkes 11 (Tom Kresge 3), Susquehanna 14 (Chad Cohle 4). Total fouls-Wilkes 22, Susquehanna 24. A-650