BETHLEHEM (PA)--- Delaware Valley men's basketball held a nine point lead late in the second half, but Moravian used a 9-0 push to force overtime and the Greyhounds went on to defeat the visiting Aggies 78-75 in non-conference action.
The game got off to a slow start, as the score was knotted at 4-4 over four minutes in. Nate Santiago knocked down a triple for Moravian (2-1) to spark a 12-4 run which led to a 16-8 Greyhound lead with 12:13 remaining in the first half. Thomas Ibidapo ended that run with a layup and made another bucket after two Moravian free throws to put the Aggies (2-3)Â down 18-12 midway through the first half.
Nate Dougherty extend the lead back to eight for the Greyhounds and DelVal went cold from the field, as the hosts extended their lead to 24-12 with 7:36 left in the half. The teams would go back and forth for the next four minutes, as Moravian held a 36-25 advantage with just over three minutes to go in the first half.
The Aggies made a nice push in the final three minutes, as a Matt Paulus layup brought the deficit back to single digits. Edward Jones connected on a layup and Nestor Diaz drilled a three pointer with 1:30 left to trim the Greyhound lead to 38-34. A Moravian basketball followed by a Paulus free throw and Ibidapo layup brought the score to 40-37 at halftime in favor of the Greyhounds.
Pernell Ghee and Godly Marc, the top two leading scorers for the Aggies, were held to seven and four points respectively after each picking up three fouls in the first half. Ibidapo scored 12 points and collected seven rebounds through the first 20:00.
Ghee knocked down two free throws two minutes into the second half to even the score at 42-42, the first tie since 4-4 at the 15:38 mark. Two Paulus foul shots give the Aggies their first lead, 44-42, since they led 2-0. DelVal would stay in front until the 13:25 mark, when CJ Weber connected from beyond the arc to even it up 48-48.
The game stayed at one possession for the next five minutes. Trailing 56-54 with 7:38 left, Ghee finished with an and-one layup. He knocked down the free throw to give DelVal a 57-56 advantage. With the Aggies leading 61-58, Ghee committed his fifth foul with 6:42 left, as he finished with 10 points and five rebounds in just 11 minutes played due to foul trouble. The Greyhounds hit two from the charity stripe to go down by one, but Paulus answered with and-one of his own to extend the lead to 64-60. Godly Marc and Nestor Diaz each made layups and Paulus hit one free throw to cap an 8-0 run from the 6:38 to 3:39 mark to give the Aggies their largest lead of the game at 69-60.
That score would hold for almost two minutes, but with 2:42 left, Marc fouled out for DelVal, as he finished with 13 points in 17 minutes played. Forty seconds later, Moravian scored their first points in a 4:42 stretch with two free throws by Thomas Abato. Alex Dietz trimmed the lead to five with a pair of foul shots, then came away with a steal to lead to a Nate Dougherty triple with 1:20 left, bringing the Aggie lead to 69-67.
With under 30 seconds left, Moravian had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Edward Jones came away with a steal with 21 seconds left. The Greyhounds chose not to foul right away and it paid off, as Doughtery came away with a steal at midcourt and finished with a layup to cap off a 9-0 Moravian run to tie the game at 69-69 with 14 seconds left.
DelVal held for the final shot, but never got a shot off, as the Greyhounds forced a turnover to send the game to overtime.
Moravian started the extra stanza with two free throws. Paulus tied it up at 71-71 with a layup with 3:55 left and Alex Dietz and Dariel Medina traded baskets, as the scored sat tied at 73-73.
The Aggies got two defensive stops and Ibidapo finished with a hook shot in the paint to put DelVal in front for the first time in overtime, 75-73, with 2:05 left. A Nate Santiago basket  just 18 seconds later evened the score yet again at 75-75.
The Aggies came away empty on their next three possessions and Moravian did the same on their next two. With the game still knotted at 75-75, Danny Cooper got a layup to fall with 35 seconds left to put the Greyhounds in front 77-75.
Ibidapo missed a jumper with 12 seconds left and DelVal fouled to put the Greyhounds on the free throw line. Thomas Abato split a pair of foul shots, extending the lead to 78-75 with 11 seconds left.
DelVal called a timeout to draw up a play for the tie. Paulus used an off-ball screen and got a good look from beyond the arc on the left wing, but his shot rimmed out and time expired, as Moravian secured the 78-75 win.
Thomas Ibidapo finished with a double-double, scoring a season-high 16 points and leading the contest with 16 rebounds.
Matt Paulus also scored a season-high 16 points for DelVal and added five rebounds and three steals.
Nestor Diaz added 14 points for the Aggies on 6-13 shooting. The senior grabbed six rebounds and came away with two steals.
Both teams struggled shooting, as Moravian finished 23-63 (37%) and DelVal went 30-87 (35%). Despite getting up 24 fewer shots, the Greyhounds made up for it by going 24-29 (83%) from the free throw line compared to 11-16 (69%) for the Aggies.
The Aggies will return to action Friday, November 19th, as they visit Brynn Athyn for a 6PM tip-off.
