DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – The Delaware Valley men's basketball team kept the game within reach through the majority of the first half, but let a 20-3 run from King's in the final five minutes of the half to create a deficit they couldn't overcome dripping the contest 86-70 on Wednesday night.
The loss pushes DelVal to 7-9 on the season and 1-4 in conference play while the Monarchs improve to 9-6 overall and 2-3 in league play.
Alec Hilliard sunk the three 22 seconds into the game to put the Aggies on the board first. Less than a minute, later
Tyriq Toney-Bailey followed from beyond the arc to extend the Aggies' early lead to 6-0. Hilliard came right back down for the layup to bring the advantage to 8-0.
A scoreless 4:27 ensued for DelVal with the Monarchs putting up 10 unanswered to take the lead, 10-8, with 14:13 to play. The Aggies wouldn't fall below three before a 3-of-4 effort from the line paired with a three from
Rasheem Dearry put them back in the lead, 14-12, forcing a King's timeout at the 12:31 mark.
King's held a slight 16-15 edge over the Aggies through the next six minutes with either team unable to gain a lead greater than two. A 2-of-2 performance at the line from
Godly Marc at 5:26 put DelVal in a single-point lead, 29-28. But, the Monarchs responded quickly with a three to start on a 20-3 run to take a 16-point lead into the half, 48-32.
King's tried to run away with the lead, but the Aggies matched them point-for-point to start the second half led by
Jojo Pierre with six of DelVal's 15 points in the first 6:19 keeping the deficit to 16, 63-47, and forcing a timeout by the Monarchs. King's pulled ahead by a margin of 20 twice more over the next three minutes leading 74-54 when Toney-Bailey sunk yet another three to bring the deficit down to 17, 74-57, with just under nine minutes to play. King's held a slight 12-11 edge over the Aggies to maintain its lead with
Kamal Johnson sinking a jumper just before the buzzer to cut the final deficit to 16, 86-70.
DelVal returns to action at home this Saturday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. against DeSales.
