MBB: Offense explodes as Colonels rout Monarchs 101-72

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story’s headline had the incorrect final score for King’s. The headline has been corrected.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — The Wilkes University Colonels put up a season high 101 points in the blowout win over the King’s College Monarchs in the 100th meeting between the two rivals.

The Monarchs still own a slight edge in the all-time series after this game 55-45.

The Colonels came into this game riding high off the momentum of their win Saturday over Misericordia which put them into the MAC Freedom tournament. The Colonels have gotten a lot of production from Marcus Robinson and Rob Pecorelli, as they have lead the team in scoring all season long.

The Monarchs came into this one looking to play the role of spoiler as they had just been eliminated.

The game started off with some bad news for the Colonels when Connor Evans drove to the basket and fell awkwardly injured his knee three minutes into the game.

“I have not given it too much thought, I just know that it’s his knee,” Colonels Head Coach Izzi Metz said on Connor Evans knee injury. “I’m not sure if it’s going to keep him out long term.”

The Landon Henry (7 points) came in to replace Evans and the Colonels did not miss a beat. The Colonels put up a whopping 49 points in the first half as they continued to roll without Evans. The Colonels did not take their foot off the gas in the second half as they were able to break triple digits for the first time this season.

“Coach always tells us that if someone goes down, the next man has to step up,” Junior Marcus Robinson said. “Landon played very well filling in tonight at the point and were only looking ahead to the next game.”

Marcus Robinson (14 points) recorded a double-double adding 11 rebounds to his double digit point total. Mark Mullins (16 points) fell one rebound short (9) from a double-double, Mason Gross (15 points) also came close to a triple-double with 6 assists and 7 rebounds, and Rob Pecorelli (19 points) had a game high point total and 6 assists. All together the Colonels totaled 25 assists.

“I really feel like I’m locked in right now, I know later on in the season these guys count me and the other upper-classmen to step up,” Robinson said. “They’re just kind of bouncing off of us.”

The Colonels have officially locked up the top seed for the MAC Freedom tournament so they will have home court advantage throughout the tournament.

“There’s always an extra push when playing at home because of the crowd and all of our fans,” Robinson said. “We’re just looking forward to getting this win.”

The other three seeds are still up in the air as DeSales, Eastern, and Misericordia are all tied with 9-4 records. Eastern controls their own destiny, as a win on Saturday in their final game will put them in the two seed due to tie breakers. Misericordia and Desales currently sit tied in the standings and every tiebreaker category, so hopefully they create some separation in their final game. Misericordia plays Manhattanville and DeSales plays Delaware Valley.

The Colonels final game is Saturday, which will be senior day at the Marts Center. The Colonels will look to beat Eastern, which is the only team they have not beaten all year. If the Colonels win, they will likely be inviting Eastern back to the Marts Center for their first MAC Freedom tournament game on Jan. 21.