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CENTER VALLEY — If Wilkes would have rallied to beat DeSales in the MAC Freedom men’s basketball finals after falling behind 18 points at halftime, it would have been a scene out of a movie.
But there was no cinematic ending for the Colonels, who lost 78-66. It gave the host Bulldogs a championship sweep on Saturday, as the DeSales women beat Misericordia 75-59 in first game of a doubleheader.
“I’m really proud of the way our guys fought today,” Wilkes coach Izzi Metz said. “When you play a good team like DeSales, you can’t spot them 18 points like we did in the first half. If we were down 10 instead of 18, I think we would’ve won the game.”
DeSales appeared to be running away with things when the Bulldogs went into halftime leading 48-30, but the Colonels fought their way back into the game.
“DeSales came into the game with a great game plan and we didn’t play our best basketball,” Metz said. “We started to move the ball more vertically in the second half and we just kept on fighting.”
Wilkes cut the lead all the way down to four before the Bulldogs pulled away for good. The Colonels went the entire game without taking a lead.
The Colonels struggled in the first half as they shot under 40 percent from the field and just nine percent from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs, on the other hand, went 6-for-13 from deep, helping them score 48 first-half points.
The first time these two teams met, DeSales went off in the second half, topping 60 points in the final 20 minutes to win 97-85. Wilkes was able to win the second game between the two after a missed buzzer-beater from Ben Pratt.
Pratt went on to be named the MVP of Saturday’s game thanks to his play on both ends of the floor. He scored 13 points and had three assists while helping shut down the Colonels offense.
For Wilkes, all five starters played 30-plus minutes and finished in double figures in scoring. Tommy Bowen led the way with 15, followed by 13 apiece from Marcus Robinson and Mark Mullins and 11 each from Rob Pecorelli and Connor Evans.
DeSales’ bench outscored Wilkes’ reserves 27-3.
Wilkes (18-9, 9-5) now waits to see if the season will continue with an invitation to a posteason tournament.
The Cougars, meanwhile, have a case to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III bracket, finishing 22-5 overall to set a single-season program record for wins. Three of their five losses came against the nationally ranked Bulldogs.
On Saturday, Misericordia fell behind in the third quarter by 15 points before pulling within three with seven minutes left.
“Some things didn’t go our way,” Misericordia coach Jason Rhine said. “There were some bang-bang calls in fourth quarter that didn’t go our way,and it’s hard when their home crowd was able to help them build momentum.”
After getting themselves within striking distance, the Bulldogs were able to take advantage of some Misericordia turnovers and pull away at the end.
“It is hard to win when you turn the ball over 22 times against a really good team,” Rhine said. “I think we had our moments today where we were able to return what they dished out and I’m proud of my team.”
Kalynn Sefcik led Misericordia with 12 points while Paige Wampole tallied her fourth consecutive double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Leanne Forsyth was the third Cougar in double figures with 10 points off the bench. The senior shot 5-of-8 from the field while adding two rebounds and two assists.