DOYLESTOWN (PA) – The five Delaware Valley College starters combined for 102 points as the Aggies clinched a Freedom Conference playoff berth for the third time in school history and the second in the last three years with a 104-92 triumph over Manhattanville College.
Delaware Valley improved to 14-10 overall and 8-5 in the conference. The Aggies are tied for second place with Misericordia University and Wilkes University, but they hold the tiebreaker edge on them and can clinch the No. 2 seed and the first-ever home playoff game in program history with a win on Saturday at Eastern University. There are also scenarios where the Aggies can still grab top seed and host throughout the conference playoffs. The playoffs begin next Wednesday, February 23 with the eventual champion earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Both teams were unconscious from the field as Delaware Valley shot 55 percent while Manhattanville (13-11, 5-8) was even better at 56.5 percent. The big difference was from 3-point land as the Aggies hit 12 of 22 attempts (54.5%) from downtown compared to a 3-for-12 effort from the Valiants.
It was the starting unit that nearly did all of the damage for the Aggies. Leading the way was Freedom Conference Player of the Year candidate James Jones as the senior was a perfect 14-for-14 from the foul line and finished with 28 points. He also added seven assists and six rebounds. Fellow senior Jason Goldheimer hit six treys and finished with 26 points while sophomore Jeremy Beckett added 20 points and eight boards. Freshman Nathan Bollinger and senior Chris Ellis chipped in with 16 and 12 points respectively. The lone points off the bench came from freshman Nate Lewis in the second half.
Manhattanville scored the first eight points of the contest before the Aggies settled in front of a large home crowd and took their first lead of the game seven minutes in. The lead changed hands six times with the Valiants eventually taking a 46-44 advantage into the break.
The lead went back-and-forth on three more occasions early in the second half and there were also five ties. Delaware Valley took the lead for good on a three-point play by Jones with exactly 14 minutes remaining. Goldheimer followed with a trey and Bollinger added a layup to make it a six-point contest.
Manhattanville got to within three twice, the last coming on a Jay Ferriere layup to make it 69-66 with 1109 remaining. However, the Aggies responded with a 13-2 run, including six by Beckett, for a 79-68 advantage with 7:06 to go. Trevoy Pointer had three straight for the Valiants but it was last time they were within single digits as Delaware Valley scored nine straight, capped by back-to-back bombs from Goldheimer and Ellis, for an 88-71 lead with 4:17 to go. Fourteen of Delaware Valley's final 16 points came at the foul line with the remaining two coming on a fast-break dunk by Beckett.
Pointer finished with a game-high 29 points to pace Manhattanville. Glen Rodriguez and Peter Mehmel added 20 points apiece while Ferriere finished with four points and 10 assists.