DOYLESTOWN (PA)--- The Delaware Valley men's basketball team got out a to 15 point first half lead and held off a late Wilkes' push to secure the 69-66 victory in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom action.
The win moves the Aggies to 13-9 overall and 9-6 in the MAC Freedom as they remain in the fifth seed, a half game behind Lycoming in fourth place. Wilkes falls to 7-15 overall and 4-10 in the MAC Freedom as they remain in the seventh spot, one game ahead of King's.
After Wilkes scored the first basket of the game, the Aggies scored the next six points to lead 6-2. With DelVal leading 14-10, the Aggies went on a 9-0 run started by a Ewens Lizima layup and capped off by a bucket from Nestor Diaz to lead 23-10 with 11:14 left in the first half. DelVal didn't miss a shot during that stretch and knocked down one three pointer. The Aggies then led by 15 on two more occasions over the next three minutes before Wilkes worked their way back into the game.
The Colonels used a 12-3 run over a 4:06 span to close the deficit to 32-26. During that stretch, Wilkes shot 5-of-7 from the field and held DelVal to 1-of-7 shooting. Matt Paulus made a jumper to end the run and the Aggies hit three free throws, as they held a 37-31 lead heading into halftime.
DelVal shot 47% in the first half while Wilkes shot 41% from the field, but the Colonels only hit 1-of-11 three pointers.
Jordan Gombs connected from beyond the arc to start the second half, then Nestor Diaz came away with a steal and a bucket on the other end to put DelVal ahead 42-31. Wilkes answered quickly with the next five points to trim the lead back to six.
After back and forth action over the next four minutes, a Nickerson DeMelfi three pointer brought Wilkes back to within four, the smallest lead for the Aggies since they led 14-10 early in the game. A Pernell Ghee layup and a Ryan Black triple after a Francis-Robles Montas steal grew the DelVal lead back to nine with 12:50 remaining.
With the Aggies leading 55-48 with 10 minutes remaining, Matt Davidheiser got fouled on a three point shot and knocked down all three free throws. Trent Fisher then made a layup, followed by a pair of foul shots, capping off a 7-0 run to tie the game for the first time at 55-55 with 7:39 left.
DelVal stayed poised, responding with an 11-1 run over a 4:43 stretch to lead 66-56 with 2:56 remaining. Ghee started the run with a layup and ended it with a three pointer with Diaz, Godly Marc and Jordan Gombs each making layups during that stretch.
Wilkes' went cold from the field, not making a field goal for a 6:56 stretch, before a Nickerson DeMelfi layup with 1:43 remaining brought the Colonels to within eight at 66-58 with 1:43 left.
With the score at 66-59, Gombs split a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 67-59 with 48 seconds left. Cayden Merrifield made it a two score game with a jumper, as the Colonels continued to extend the game with fouls. Ghee went to the line with 30 seconds left and missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity. Merrifield quickly converted a layup with 24 seconds left, as Wilkes trailed 67-63.
Matt Paulus then had a one-and-one chance at the foul line and he also missed the front end, giving the Colonels some life. On the next possession, DeMelfi put up and off-balanced three point shot and connected, as DelVal was clinging to a 67-66 lead with nine seconds left. Paulus redeemed himself, going 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to make it a three point game. On the Colonels' last possession, Matt Davidheiser hoisted up a deep three pointer, but came up empty, as the Aggies held on for the 69-66 win.
The Aggies led for nearly the entirety of the game, as they were in front for 38:29 after an early 2-0 Wilkes lead. The Colonels turned it over 17 times leading to 21 DelVal points, while the Aggies committed 13 turnovers, resulting in just four points for Wilkes.
Each team made five three pointers, with Wilkes doing so in 24 attempts and DeVal taking just 13 attempts.
Trent Fisher led all scorers with 20 points while securing a double-double with 12 rebounds. Matt Davidheiser chipped in 11 for the Colonels.
Pernell Ghee had a team-high 18 points for DelVal and also pulled in four rebounds. Jordan Gombs scored 11 while Nestor Diaz had 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Aggies will wrap up conference play Tuesday, February 15th as they host DeSales for an 8 p.m. tip-off.
