DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Matthew Rista came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points, including the go-ahead layup with 1:46 remaining, to lift The College of New Jersey to a 70-67 victory over host Delaware Valley College in a non-conference game.

The win improved the Lions to 4-3 overall while the Aggies fell to 2-6. Delaware Valley is off until December 28 when it travels to the York College Coaches vs Cancer Tournament and takes on Hartwick College in the opening round.

The Aggies trailed for nearly the entire second half, but went ahead by one, 66-65, when Jay Donovan had a putback off a Jeremy Beckett miss with 2:02 on the clock. TCNJ came down the court and Kyle Cancillieri hit Rista with a great feed inside for a layup.

Both teams turned the ball over on their next possessions and Delaware Valley followed with a miss jumper. The Lions then upped the lead to three with 35 seconds to go as Kyle Rawson got inside for a layup.

Beckett was fouled with 12 ticks left and hit one of two attempts to make it a 69-67 ballgame. TCNJ's Jason Chalmers was fouled shortly after and he was 1-for-2 from the line. Delaware Valley inbounded the ball and called timeout when they crossed the halfcourt line with 7.1 seconds remaining. The team's first look at a 3-pointer was covered and Jay Donovan was forced to throw an off-balanced shot as the clock wound down. It was on-line, but a little long off the rim and the Lions had the win.

TCNJ used a 13-1 run in the first half to take a 32-20 advantage. Delaware Valley crawled back into the contest and trailed by just five, 39-34, at the break. The Lions never led by more than seven in the second half and that was after the opening bucket. The Aggies tied it on seven occasions and held one-point lead twice with the last coming before Rista's go-ahead bucket.

Cancillieri had a double-double for TCNJ as he finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Rawson added 10 points and eight boards.

Daulton Derr led Delaware Valley with 17 points while Beckett, Donovan and Nathan Bollinger had 11 points apiece. Beckett led the way on the boards with 10.