It was an eventful weekend for both of Wilkes’ basketball teams as they squared off against Elizabethtown College in two marquee matchups.
Opened in 1927, the Palestra has hosted college basketball games for almost 100 years. Situated on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, the arena is dubbed the “Cathedral of College Basketball.”
The teams made the trip down to Philadelphia for two conference matchups against Landmark rivals Elizabethtown.
The Conference has previously held games at the Palestra in 2023 and 2024. For Wilkes, it is a second trip for the men’s team to the historic venue. The women’s team made their first trip this year.
The women’s team faced off in the first matchup of the day against the #17 ranked Blue Jays. Elizabethtown had the lead early on, and held on to lead at the end of the first quarter by double digits. The Colonels had the scoring lead in the second, but a run from the Blue Jays made it 50-27 at the half.
Another hot start to the third quarter was met by the Blue Jays going on another run. By the end of the third, the Blue Jays had a 69-41 lead.
However in the fourth quarter, the Colonels held Elizabethtown to just five field goals in the final frame.
Yami Matos led the Colonels in scoring with 13 points on the day. Caroline Lundy was perfect from the field going 3-3 and scoring 10 points, as well as shooting 2-2 from the free throw line. Julianna Askins also scored eight points in the game. Nadia Evanosky had 12 boards as well.
For the Blue Jays, Allyia Kennedy led the team with 15 points. Makenna Mummert and Cyleigh Wilson also broke double digits, scoring 13 and 11 respectively.
The Colonels fell to the Blue Jays by a final score of 83-54. The loss against Elizabethtown marked the Colonels’ 13th defeat in a row, having a winless season thus far. However, Head Coach Al Berger says that the future is bright for the young Colonel team.
“I’m proud of our group and where we’re trying to get to,” Berger said. “They’re committing to our process. We’re at an exciting point in our season, we just hit the halfway point today. So you know the sky’s the limit moving forward. Obviously we’ve got to just stay committed to our process and chipping away trying to get the results we want.”
The team is home again on Jan. 15 against Drew University. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from the Marts Center.
The men’s team started out hot with Lucas Lesko finding the basket for the opening score. After a few minutes, the Colonels’ lead was in the double digits, and they carried the momentum for much of the first half. Going into the break, the Blue and Gold had a 34-31 lead.
The action continued well into the second half, with the Blue Jays going on a 13-6 run and taking a 44-40 lead. With about 12 minutes left in the half, the Colonels had a slim 48-47 lead going into the last few minutes of play.
It was in those final few minutes that history was made for Lesko and Cayden Merrifield, recording their 1,000th points each. They became the first 1,000 point scorers since Trent Fisher last season. Both players came into the game needing 20, and each finished with 22.
The Colonels went on a big run in the second half, but the Blue Jays stormed back with a run of their own, scoring 16 straight. The Colonels eventually held on for an 82-74 victory.
Lesko attributed confidence to the Colonels’ win.
“Knowing that we played here before, I’m sure it gave everyone confidence on our team to come out, just start strong,” he said. “Preparation leading up to it, we had some good practices. I think that’s what led to our strong start there.”
The Colonels are on the road on Jan. 15, also taking on the Rangers of Drew University. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Baldwin Gymnasium in Madison, NJ. Drew Currently are first place in the Landmark, with Wilkes hot on their trails in second place.