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WILKES-BARRE — Wilkes solved a very tough Juniata defense on Saturday, with four scoring in double figures as the Colonels won 83-77 at the Marts Center, handing the Eagles their first conference loss.
The Juniata defense had held its opponents to just 63 points per game heading into Saturday’s game.
The key? Balance and ball distribution, two things that the Colonels had in spades in front of the hometown crowd.
“I thought we moved the ball really well, I thought our spacing was good,” Wilkes coach Izzi Metz said. “They (Juniata) make you move the ball because they’re so aggressive. … They are very good defensively.”
Four of the five starters scored at least 10 points for Wilkes, led by forward Lucas Lesko with 20.
Trent Fisher, coming off a 28-point, 11-board performance in the Colonels’ win over Lycoming on Wednesday, had 18 points and eight rebounds on Saturday. Cayden Merrifield added 15 points and Jack Zvorsky rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points.
Fisher also had the task of trying to lock up Juniata big man Chase Husted, who came into the weekend averaging 22 points a game.
It wasn’t a matter of completely shutting down Husted; he went for a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds. But a lot of that damage was done in the first half, and Fisher was able to turn the tables and give Husted fits down on the other end.
“Trent’s playing some of the best basketball of his career right now,” Metz said. “He’s being a leader first and foremost, he’s got so many big games under his belt.”
The Colonels led this one wire to wire, but it wasn’t until the second half that Wilkes was able to find a little separation from Juniata.
Leading 40-34 coming out of the break, the Wilkes offense continued to gel while stringing together defensive stops, expanding that lead to as many as 16 points in the second half.
A huge boost for the Colonels came from point guard Merrifield, who had been held scoreless in the first half.
Merrifield wouldn’t be denied in the second half, scoring 15 points and leading the Colonels out of a tight game and into a more comfortable one.
“They were huge momentum baskets, it just opened up so much for us,” Metz said of his point guard. “He’s such an emotional leader for us, the guys feed off of him.”
The Colonel lead was at its largest with just about four minutes left, 75-59 after a Lesko layup.
But Juniata was not going to go away, and the defense that’s caused problems for so many teams this season began to turn up the pressure on Wilkes.
A full-court press wreaked a little bit of havoc on Wilkes as they tried to advance the ball up the court, and created a few turnovers that Juniata used to cut into the Colonel lead.
The Eagles cut the lead to seven points with just under a minute to play. In need of an answer, it was the Wilkes defense that found one.
After Jack Argento caused a jump ball by getting after a loose ball on the floor, the Colonels got the ball back after forcing a backcourt violation.
After a ball out of bounds gave Wilkes an inbounds under the Juniata basket, Fisher made a great cut and got free for a layup that ultimately iced the game.
One final three-pointer at the buzzer made it an 83-77 game, but it was far too late for Juniata to prevent Wilkes from picking up the win.
“We had a lot of guys step up, score and make plays,” Metz said. “It was a balanced attack, the guys were moving and the ball was moving.”
Wilkes will next be in action on Dec. 18, traveling to Clarks Summit University.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Wilkes 83, Juniata 77
WILKES (83) — Lesko 8 2-2 20, Fisher 8 2-4 18, Merrifield 5 4-6 15, Zvorsky 3 7-10 13, Davidheiser 1 0-0 3, Ackerman 3 0-0 8, Argento 2 1-1 6, Eberhart 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 16-23 83
JUNIATA (77) — Husted 9 5-7 23, Hardy 7 0-2 17, Eisenhart 6 0-0 15, Guidinger 5 0-0 10, Lapetina 1 2-2 4, Ruggery 1 0-0 3, Kocak 1 1-1 3, Kioko 1 0-0 2, Campbell 0 0-0 0, Watson 0 0-0 0. Totals 31 8-12 77
Juniata`34`43 — 77
Wilkes`40`43 — 83
Three-point goals: JUN 7 (Hardy 3, Eisenhart 3, Ruggery), WIL 7 (Lesko 2, Ackerman 2, Merrifield, Davidheiser, Argento).