Box Score PURCHASE (NY) – Delaware Valley College scored 12 straight points as part of a 13-3 run over the final 5:10 as the Aggies erased an eight-point deficit on the road and notched a 71-69 triumph over Freedom Conference foe Manhattanville College.
Delaware Valley, the conference's preseason favorite, is alone atop the standings in the early going of league action as the Aggies improved to 8-6 overall and 3-0 in the Freedom. The Valiants slipped to 5-9 and 1-2.
After the teams were deadlocked at 38 at the break, Delaware Valley, behind five from
Nick Sullivan and three from
Zach Sly, built a seven-point advantage four minutes into the second half. However, the Valiants erased that for a seven-point lead of their own with 8:05 and then upped it to nine, 64-55, less than two minutes later.
A three-point play by the Aggies'
Francis Arnold with 5:22 remaining was countered by a Juan Camacho layup just 12 seconds later for a 66-58 Manhattanville lead.
That was the last field goal the Valiants hit until one just before the buzzer. Meanwhile the veteran Delaware Valley squad went to work starting with a free throw by Arnold. Sullivan drained a 3-pointer with 4:25 on the clock and then, after neither team scored for two minutes, it was Sullivan again from downtown to pull the Aggies to within one, 66-65. Arnold got inside for a layup and a Delaware Valley lead with 1:52 to go. Thirty-three seconds later, Arnold fed forward/center
Chris Moran, who stepped outside and hit a trey of his own for 12 straight points and a 70-66 score.
Manhattanville's Andrew Winter ended the run by hitting one free throw to make it a one-possession game with 27 ticks left.
Barry Brockington was fouled two seconds later and the Aggie junior hit one of two from the line. Winter got the final points with a jumper at the buzzer, but it was Delaware Valley which rallied for the win.
The Aggies overcame less than 50 percent shooting from the foul line and 18 turnovers for the win. They shot 47.4 percent from the field, including an 8-for-18 effort from beyond the arc. They also got the job done on the boards as they held a 50-30 advantage, including 14 on the offensive end.
Arnold finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. Sullivan had five treys and 17 points before fouling out. Moran notched 13 points, five boards and two blocked shots while Brockington came off the bench to add nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
For Manhattanville, Anthony Maestre scored a game-high 23 points and reached the 1,000-point plateau in his career, Camacho had 11 points early and finished with 15 in the loss.
