WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Lebanon Valley College withstood a furious Wilkes College comeback attempt Saturday, pulling away at the end of the game to win, 59-47, in men's basketball action at the Marts Center.

The Dutchmen (6-8) ended the game with their largest lead of the afternoon after the Colonels (6-6) had pulled within four points with 4:17 left in the game.

LVC relied on the inside game, with senior Peter Ruth and junior Eric Humphrey each draining 16 points as the Dutchmen scored 38 points in the paint. Junior Kyle Enoch added 15 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

Chris DeRojas scored a game-high 22 points for Wilkes and was the only Colonel in double figures. LVC held Wilkes to just 15-of-52 (28.8%) shooting from the field, and outrebounded the Colonels 39-29.

Lebanon Valley raced out to a 10-point lead midway through the first half on three straight layups by Humphrey, but Wilkes responded with a 10-0 run to tie the game at 19-19 with 4:41 left before the break. LVC again pulled away, using a 9-2 run capped by Grant Becker's three to end the half to take a seven-point advantage into the locker room.

Wilkes didn't let up, however, to start the second half, chipping away at LVC's lead and tying the game at 30-30 on DeRojas' layup at 14:09.

The Colonels captured the lead a minute later when DeRojas canned a three-pointer, but it proved to be short-lived as LVC hit a 13-0 run, with the final eight points coming from Ruth, as the Dutchmen retook the lead for good and went up 44-33 with 8:59 left.

Wilkes kept at it, pulling within four points with 4:17 left, but Ruth's two free throws and a layup gave LVC an eight-point lead with 2:24 remaining, and the hosts failed to make a field goal after that as the Dutchmen won going away.

Lebanon Valley returns home for the first time in over a month Monday, hosting Cortland State at 7 p.m.