The game, which was originally slated to begin at 8 p.m., did not tip-off until nearly 9:15 due to a delay in the start of the Centenary women’s game. The contest finally concluded at 10:50 p.m.
Centenary held a 26-21 lead following back-to-back baskets by Kelvin Kennedy with just over eight minutes to play in the opening half. However, Wilkes would respond with nine unanswered points to take the lead for the first time. Matt Gould hit one free throw and Jeremy Kable nailed a three-pointer to cut the Cyclones lead to 26-25. Evan Walters converted a traditional three-point play and John Yanniello hit two charity tosses to provide the Colonels with a 30-26 advantage with 4:45 showing on the clock.
Kennedy knocked down jumper and hit one free throw to pull the Cyclones within 30-29. Walters scored inside and Yanniello hit a a15-footer to extend the Wilkes lead to 34-29. Omar Davis would counter with a bucket inside for Centenary to make it 34-31. Yanniello and Walters sandwiched field goals around a John Sclafani free throw to push the Wilkes edge to 39-31. Kennedy scored on a drive for the Cyclones to cut the gap to 39-33. But, a field goal by Yanniello would allow the Colonels to head into halftime with a 41-33 lead.
A modest 8-0 Centenary spurt midway through the second stanza gave the home team a 57-55 advantage. Steve McNamara hit a pair of three-pointers and Bryan Sherlock added a bucket inside during the run.
Shovlin would provide Wilkes with the lead for good with a traditional three-point play at the 7:58 mark to make it 58-57. The freshman would add two more field goals and Kable would knock down a shot off an assist from Shovlin to cap what turned out to be a 9-0 run that gave the Colonels a 64-57 lead.
Centenary would not go quietly, cutting the lead to just three, 70-67, on a pair of free throws by Kennedy with 38 seconds left. Shovlin would cap an outstanding performance by hitting all four of his free throw tries in the remaining time to secure the Wilkes win.
Shovlin 31-point effort included 21 tallies in the second half. He also contributed eight rebounds and five steals. Yanniello had 13 tallies and Walters contributed 11 points and eight boards for the Colonels.
McNamara had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Centenary. Kennedy chipped in with 15 tallies, Sherlock added 12 points and seven assists and Josh Davidson had 11 tallies for the Cyclones.