ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Wilkes entered Tuesday night's non-conference game at Elizabethtown with the 34th best field goal percentage defense in Division III, but the Blue Jays turned the tables, holding the Colonels to just 35.5% shooting while knocking down 49.1% of their attempts in a 73-56 victory at Thompson Gymnasium.

Matt Lapkowicz led the charge for the Blue and Gray with 18 points and nine rebounds, Tommy James had a career-high 15 and Jake Sweger came on to provide 14 points.

Elizabethtown (1-4) trailed throughout much of the first half, but outscored the Colonels (2-2) 15-3 over the final three minutes to lead 39-32 at the half. Lapkowicz recorded seven points in the spurt, including another deep three in the closing seconds. The junior guard beat the first have buzzer with a long trey in last Saturday's loss to Washington (Md.)

James tormented Wilkes in the first half, scoring 13 of his 15 points. The Mount Airy, Md., native was a big reason the Blue Jays held a 22-14 advantage in the paint at halftime. When Wilkes tried to limit James in the second half, Sweger went to work collecting 11 of his 14 points.

The scrappy Colonels hung around into the final 10 minutes, closing within five, 53-48, on an Alec Wizar 3-pointer with 9:09 remaining, but the ensuing three minutes were all Elizabethtown. Jamil Pines-Elliott, Sweger and Lapkowicz all contributed buckets during an 8-0 run for the home team.

Another strong finish was in store for the Blue Jays, as they closed out the game by scoring the final eight points en route to a 17-point victory.

E-town's 17-2 advantage in second-half bench points fell squarely on Sweger and Jamil Pines-Elliott, as the junior had 11 and the freshman six.

The Blue Jays knocked down shots at a season best rate of 49.1%, while not giving in at the other end of the floor. Matt Ziegler had two more blocks and Elizabethtown, which finished with four Tuesday, now has 11 over its last two games. E-town also matched its season-high with nine steals, five of which came from Lapkowicz.

Lapkowicz stuffed the staff sheet with a game-high 18 points, nine rebounds, five steals and three assists. He made half of his 12 shots and was 3-of-6 from outside. Josh Eden had eight points and Ziegler seven. Matt Lane doled out a game-high four assists.

Zachary Brunner paced the visitors with 13 points and Steve Stravinski had 11 to go with nine rebounds. Wilkes' leading scorer, Wizar, was held almost seven points under his average, scoring 10 on 4-of-16 shooting and 2-of-11 from 3-point range. E-town never let the Colonels' second leading scorer get on track, either, as Marcus Robinson finished with five points, well below his 13.7 average.

The Blue Jays will head south down 81 to take part in the BB&T Classic at Shenandoah University Saturday and Sunday. Elizabethtown meets up with first time opponent William Peace in its opening game Saturday evening at 6.