In a well-fought battle for a postseason play off spot, the men’s basketball team defeated the Monarchs 83-77 on Senior Day. The women’s team ended its season after losing to the Monarchs, 59-88.

Amal Pillai, Devin Dunn, Steve Stravinski, Alec Wizar, Cara Basile and Chelsea Smelas were honored before their respective games. In recent weeks, both Stravinski and Wizar joined the 1000-point club. Basile and Smelas ended their careers after the end of the game.

The game between the men’s teams was expected to be close. Before the game, the Colonels were at a record of 13-12 coming off a big win, and the Monarchs’ record was 12-13 after a three game win streak.

The monstrous crowd was a factor in the game. The student section was completely full of students with props and loud chants. There were a few free throws King’s missed, possibly due to the loudness of the crowd.

Marcus Robinson propelled Wilkes ahead after scoring multiple three-pointers, one after another. There were two fouls called against him in the first few minutes of the game. His time was limited for the first half, and in the second half was when Robinson stepped it up.

“I was so excited for the game. I couldn’t have been more excited because we have been working all year for a chance to get into the playoffs. We want to show other teams that we are contenders,” Robinson said.

There were several tied scores throughout the first half. The Colonels kept the pace up and stayed in the lead for most of the first half. Wilkes was in the lead at halftime 43-36. The second half started with King’s coming back and taking the lead 45-36, but then King’s trailed Wilkes for the rest of the game. At one point, King’s came back within two points of Wilkes but the game ended 83-77.

Stravinski also performed well in his game. He was in the spotlight for this game because he recently surpassed 1,000 points, and was interviewed by John Mendola before the game. Stravinski’s career will soon come to an end.

“It’s an amazing feeling to earn the milestone of 1000 points, especially since my teammate Alec Wizar eclipsed the total earlier in the year. To have two guys who have been together for all four years is truly something special. To win this game against King’s means everything to me. It’s the difference between being done for our careers and being able to continue playing the game we love.

“On top of that, it’s us versus our rivals down the street in our last home game ever, so it means everything,” Stravinski said.

Zachary Brunner led the team with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Wizar scored 17 points and had three assists. Robinson finished with 11 points, and Clay Basalyga also scored 11 points. Wilkes clinched the fourth seed in the MAC Freedom postseason tournament.

The Wilkes women’s team ended its season with a record of 4-21. Emily Sofranko scored 11 points and had two assists, while Basile had seven points and seven rebounds. The women’s basketball team from King’s ended its season as well, with a final record of 12-13.