DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – The Delaware Valley men's basketball team secured a hard-fought 67-62 victory over Misericordia in the MAC Freedom semifinal game.
Jordan Gombs opened the scoring with a layup 1:22 into the game, but the Cougars quickly responded to even the score. Jake McGinty answered for the Aggies with an 8-4 solo run, shooting a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc to push DelVal ahead 10-6.
Misericordia responded with a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 15-13. Kamal Johnson quickly buried a three-pointer to put the Aggies back on top, 16-15. After the Cougars tied it up at 17, Zoelin Pair came up with a crucial block to prevent a lead change.
The Aggies went 0-for-3 on their next possession, but Pair pulled down two offensive rebounds before Antonio Redding capitalized with back-to-back three-pointers—his second coming off a steal—to give DelVal a 23-19 lead. McGinty then drained his third three of the half, extending the advantage to 26-19.
With under three minutes to play in the first half, the Cougars cut the deficit to one (26-25), but Pair sank two free throws to keep the Aggies ahead, 28-25. McGinty, shooting 100% from the free-throw line, extended the lead to five. In the final 30 seconds, layups from Pair and Johnson sent the Aggies into halftime with a 34-25 lead.
Misericordia came out strong in the second half with back-to-back three-pointers to close the gap. Five minutes in, Redding grabbed his own rebound and nailed a three to keep DelVal ahead, 41-33. After two offensive fouls on Misericordia, the teams traded three-pointers before McGinty found Redding for another corner three. McGinty then set up Pair for a slam dunk, electrifying the Aggies' bench.
A string of three consecutive defensive fouls on DelVal gave Misericordia a chance to capitalize, but the Cougars came up empty. Johnson then stole an inbound pass and scored before both teams went scoreless for over two minutes. Misericordia then went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes, aided by missed free throws from the Aggies. Pair finally ended the drought with a free throw, giving DelVal a five-point cushion.
Out of a timeout, Gombs found Redding for his seventh three-pointer of the night. Misericordia's Weise responded with a three of his own before a shot clock violation gave the Cougars possession with a minute to go. After grabbing an offensive rebound, Misericordia drained another corner three, cutting the Aggies' lead to just three with 39 seconds remaining.
Johnson hit one of two free throws before Arvel Chandler drilled a clutch three-pointer, bringing DelVal's lead down to just one with 15.5 seconds to play. McGinty secured a key rebound off a missed free throw and then sank six straight from the line to seal the victory, sending the Aggies to the championship game.
The MAC Freedom Championship will take place at Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday, March 1.
