The Bulldogs (22-4 overall), ranked #3 in the latest NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings, must now await a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, which will be announced on Sunday evening. Wilkes (18-8 overall) travels to #3 seed Lycoming College for the Freedom Conference Championship game on Saturday after the Warriors upset the #2 seed King’s College in the other semifinal.
Poor shooting and Colonels guard Rashawn Pressley were the stories of the game as the Bulldogs entered the game ranked ninth in the entire country in field goal shooting (50.4 %) and finished the game converting just 37.3 of its shot attempts. Pressley on the other hand entered the game averaging just 6.8 points and having made just four three-pointers all season canned 7-of-11 shots and made five treys to finish with a game-high 20 points to lead the Colonel attack.
After DeSales took what turned out to be its only lead of the game at 6-3 on a trey by senior Jim Zinn, Pressley nailed his second trey of the game to tie the contest at six apiece. After a foul shot by Zinn made it 11-9 Colonels, Wilkes went on an 8-0 run to take a 10-point lead at 19-9 with 11:44 left in the first half. WU pushed the lead up to 12 points at 23-11 before DSU went on a 13-2 run to cut the lead to one point at 25-24.
A missed jumper on a fast break and a jump ball on the ensuing offensive rebound gave the ball back to Wilkes. Greg Cardamone knocked down 1-of-2 free throws and the Colonels made a defensive stop on the other hand to regain possession. On the Colonels next offensive set with the shot clock down to 1, Pressley heaved a prayer from about 7 feet outside the three-point arc. The prayer was answered and the lead was back up to five points at 29-24 and grew to seven, 36-29 at the half.
It was back and forth action for the first seven minutes of the second half that saw Wilkes leading 45-40 with 13:17 remaining. The Colonels than held the Bulldogs to just one field goal over the next 11 minutes of the game as Wilkes built a 19-point lead with a 17-3 run and converted its free throws over the last two minutes to provide the final score of 66-50.
Zinn was the lone Bulldog in double digits finishing the game with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Junior Kyle Koch added nine points and junior David Bright grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss. DSU came into the game with a 1.3/1 assist to turnover ratio, but committed 21 turnovers and dished out just nine assists.
Wilkes, who played nearly the entire game without its leading scorer Dave Plisko as he injured his thumb on his non-shooting hand in the opening minutes of the game, saw three players score in double digits including the hero Pressley with 20. John Yanniello added 12 points and John Sclafani totaled 14 markers off the bench in relief of Plisko.