The Colonels conclude their campaign with a 12-11 record overall and a 4-10 mark in conference play. It also marks the 15th consecutive season under head coach Jerry Rickrode that Wilkes has finished above the .500 mark. Drew saw their season come to a close with an overall record of 9-15 and a conference log of 4-10.
Wilkes led throughout most of the first half, although Drew did take a 17-16 lead on a three-pointer by Bill Marano with 5:10 left before halftime. The Colonels responded with a 13-3 spurt to end the half and head into the locker room with the advantage.
John DeFeo knocked down a 16-foot jumper to start the run and give Wilkes an 18-17 edge. Tom Kresge followed with a three-pointer that extended the lead to 21-17. After a three-point play by Nelson Albino pulled Drew within 21-20 with 3:05 on the clock, Kresge hit another long-range shot and Chris Gulla canned two free throws to up the lead to 26-20. Matt Gould would cap the first half scoring with a three-pointer with 32 ticks left that gave Wilkes a 29-20 lead at the half.
Wilkes would maintain the lead throughout the final 20 minutes, although the Rangers did not go away quietly and pulled to within 30-28 on a three-pointer by Chris Lopez with 17:01 left.
The Colonels would eventually stretch the lead back to nine points, 39-30, on a Gould three-pointer with 11:53 left. But, Drew continued to battle and scored six consecutive points later in the half to get within a point.
Trailing 49-42 with 6:30 left Ryan Eisner hit a three-pointer and Bob Carella converted a traditional three-play to get the Rangers to within 49-48 with 4:46 left. But, that is as close as they would get thanks to some nifty play inside by Steve Kline. Kline cashed in a three-point play of his own to give Wilkes a 52-48 lead. He followed that with another field goal following an offensive rebound to make it 54-48. Kline then hit one-of-two charity tosses with 3:22 left to extend the lead to 55-48.
After Gould hit one-of-two free throws with 3:07 left to make it 56-48, Dave Pepperman scored inside for Drew to cut the lead to six, 56-50, at the 2:22 mark. However, Wilkes scored the final six points of the game to pull away for the victory.
Gould led the Wilkes attack with 16 points and three assists. Kresge added 15 tallies, while Kline finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Dan Adams had eight rebounds for the Colonels, who held a 33-28 advantage on the glass over the Rangers.
Eisner and David Cramer popped in 10 points each for Drew. Lopez chipped in with seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds.