DOYLESTOWN (Pa.) – The Delaware Valley University men's basketball team was overcome at home by non-conference foe Centenary University as junior Chris Labelle scored 28 in the second half to power the Cyclones to victory.

The Aggies (3-5) trailed by one just over six minutes into the game, but used a 9-1 run over the next 2:49 to take their largest lead of the game, 23-16. Mike Cianciulli capped the spurt with an and-1 layup as Devin Hill sprung him off a steal.

Centenary countered with a 12-5 run and tied the game at 28-28 with 7:38 still to play in the first half. Billy Veras and Owen Roberts each connected from deep to highlight the stretch.

The game was knotted again at 30-30 before the Aggies got three consecutive layups to go back up by six. The Cyclones responded with a six-point run of their own, but ultimately it was the home team that took a one-point, 40-39 lead into the locker room at half time.

DelVal was 16-for-32 (50%) from the field, 4-for-10 (40%) from three, and 4-for-5 (80%) from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes – all better numbers than its opponent, but it was outrebounded 21-17.

The squads went back-and-forth to start the second half and the game was tied at 63-63 with 10:30 left in regulation, but Aggie captain Damian Washington picked up his fourth foul just seven minutes into the stanza and was forced to sit for a long stretch.

DelVal fell into a hole, 71-66, with 8:24 on the clock, but used an 8-2 run to climb back to a one-point advantage. Hill powered the spurt with two treys to put the Aggies up, 74-73, but thet was the last lead DelVal would claim.

The Aggies trailed by three, 83-80, with under a minute to play and Jordan Tucker drew a foul to go to the line and stop the clock with 47 seconds left. He made one-of-two to cut the deficit to two, but Labelle made two free throws at the other end to get it back to a two possession game. Tucker was fouled again, and again went 1-for-2. Labelle was fouled again but made just one to keep it a four-point game, 86-82 with 30 seconds remaining.

Cianciulli hit a layup to make it 86-84, but Tyler White hit two big free throws for Centenary and the Aggies never got another shot off as the visitors escaped with the 88-84 win.

Labelle finished with a game-high 36 points, including the 28 in the second half on 11-of-13 shooting from the line and 3-of-5 from deep. He also had a team-high eight rebounds and three assists. Veras followed with 13 points and six boards and White finished with 12 points as a total of five Cyclones reached double figures.

DelVal was led by 18 points apiece from Tucker and Washington and the led the team with nine and seven boards, respectively. Cianciulli scored 17 points and dished out four assists with two steals while Hill hit three treys and was 5-for-8 from the field for 14 points with three helpers. Sophomore Terrence Johnson got the start and had nine points and three rebounds in nearly 33 minutes.

The Aggies shot 70% (14-20) from the free throw line compared to 76.5% (26-34) for Centenary, but DelVal did shoot over 50-percent from the field, over 40-percent from three, and they won the rebound battle, 36-34.