HOBOKEN (Nj.) – The Delaware Valley University men's basketball team opened Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom play at conference newcomer Stevens University on Wednesday night and fell into an 18-point hole at halftime that it could not climb out of, as the host squad ran away with an 85-73 win.

The Ducks who received votes in the latest D3hoops.com national polls, improved to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in league play while the Aggies fell to 4-7 with their second straight setback.

The game was tied at 8-8 early on before Stevens went on a 17-2 run over a 5:45 span to open up a 15-point, 25-10, advantage.

DelVal responded with a 7-0 spurt of its own to get within eight with 10:28 left in the first half. Junior forward Damian Washington connected on a deep 3-pointer to highlight the run.

The Ducks answered back with the next five points to reclaim its double-digit lead, 30-17. On the next possession for the Aggies, transfer guard Dairel Medina connected on a corner three, and later in the stanza his foul line jumper in transition kept the deficit at single digits, 37-28, with just over five minutes left in the half.

From there, Stevens went on a 15-2 run and would outscore DelVal, 17-8, the rest of the stanza to take an 18-point, 54-36, lead into the break. Both teams shot over 50-percent from the field through the first 20 minutes, but the Ducks made 10-of-14 (71%) over their 3-pointers and forced 12 turnovers that turned into 16 points. The Aggies were 4-of-8 from deep and attempted just one free throw in the first half while getting five points off of four Stevens' turnovers. 

The Ducks used a 9-2 run to start the second half to extend their lead to 25 points, 63-38. The largest gap in the game came at the halfway point of the stanza when Tyler McShea put back an offensive rebound to make it 75-48.

DelVal outscored Stevens the rest of the way, 25-10, but it was not enough to overcome the home team. Senior Mike Cianciulli played all 40 minutes for the second straight game and finished with 18 points, while Washington paced the squad with 22 points and nine rebounds to go with three steals. Terrence Johnson pitched in a season-high 11 points and six rebounds with three assists, and Medina finished with nine points, five rebounds, and four steals off the bench.

It was a memorable night for Stevens senior guard Spencer Cook as he eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for his career in the first half and went on to lead all players with 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field, including 5-of-7 from deep, and five rebounds in 23 minutes. Twelve players in total cracked the score sheet for the Ducks and Kevin Florio was the only other one in double-digits with 10 points to go with seven assists and five steals.