DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – First-year head coach Mike Doyle earned his first career victory as Delaware Valley men's basketball defeated Penn State Abington, 83-57, in its home opener on Wednesday night.
Omari Banks got the scoring started on the Aggies' opening possession with an assist from Jeremiah Lee. Brendon Bradford followed with a three-pointer, splitting a pair of Lions baskets. Zach Smith, Lee, and Kobe Bazemore helped DelVal build a 13-6 lead six minutes into the game. Later in the half, Kamal Johnson knocked down both free throws before stealing the ball and taking it the other way for a layup, giving the Aggies an eight-point advantage with 8:32 remaining. Chris Harmon came off the bench and drained a three-pointer to spark a 12-0 DelVal run. JT Wright and Marabuto traded three-pointers with two minutes remaining before Brian Mordi threw down back-to-back dunks. The Aggies carried a commanding 44-23 lead into halftime after shooting 60.7% from the field.
Wright and Smith opened the second half with three-pointers to keep the Aggies rolling. With both teams trading missed shots, Smith connected from beyond the arc again before Mordi recorded a block that sent Johnson the other way. Both teams continued to exchange baskets as DelVal maintained its advantage. Following an Aggie turnover, Lee grabbed a defensive rebound that led to a Bradford layup, giving DelVal its largest lead of the night at 25 points with 9:10 remaining. The Lions made a push to cut the deficit to 17 at 67-50, but a foul on Kionne Lang led to a disagreement on the court and a technical foul assessed to each team. Following the free throws, Banks and Wright teamed up for a 6-0 run, highlighted by a pair of steals from Banks. Another Aggie run, fueled by four free throws, pushed the lead to 79-51 as DelVal closed out the 83-57 victory.
With the win, the Aggies improve to 1-2 on the young season. DelVal has the weekend off before traveling to Glassboro to take on Rowan on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m.
