DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Sophomore guard Nathan Bollinger set a Delaware Valley College single-game record by pouring in 50 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining in regulation, as the host Aggies rallied for a 95-85 overtime victory over Freedom Conference frontrunner Wilkes University.

The win improved Delaware Valley to 4-15 overall and 1-7 in the conference while the Colonels dropped their second straight game and fell to 13-5 and 6-2.

The game was reminiscent of last year's battles between the two teams in which the Aggies swept all three including the conference semifinals. All-American guard James Jones notched 43 points to rally the Aggies to a come-from-behind win at home. Just a few weeks later in Wilkes-Barre, Jason Goldheimer hit three free throws with no time remaining for a one-point victory. Delaware Valley's first-ever home playoff game saw the squad pull out a nailbiter, en route to its first Freedom championship in program history.

It was Bollinger's turn for heroics this time around. He started most of his rookie campaign, but has assumed a bigger role this year with the graduation of Goldheimer and Jones. On Saturday afternoon, he hit 15 of 26 shots from the field, including a 6-for-13 effort from 3-point land, and was 14-for-16 from the foul line. The 50 points broke the previous Aggie mark of 44 set by Joe Butts against Muhlenberg College in 1989, and it also tied for the fifth-highest, single-game scoring total in MAC (Freedom Conference and Commonwealth Conference) history. It was also the biggest output in the conference since 2006. Bollinger also added five rebounds, five assists and two steals in 44 minutes of action.

Bollinger had 32 points heading into the final minute of regulation, but Delaware Valley still found itself down 10, 72-62. A pair of free throws by Jeremy Beckett and one from the line by Cam Lee made it a seven-point contest with 41 seconds to go. Wilkes missed a pair of free throws for the second time in the last minute and Bollinger came down the court and was fouled with 32 ticks on the clock. He sank both to make it 72-67 game. The teams traded one free throw apiece before Wilkes' Tyler Breznitsky hit two foul shots for a seven-point lead with 22 seconds remaining.

Bollinger followed with a trey and Jourdon Wilson was sent to the foul line for Wilkes with 15 ticks on the clock. He hit one of two shots for a 76-71 score. Bollinger had the ball on the next Aggie possession and he was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer with eight seconds left. He hit all three opportunities to pull Delaware Valley to within two.

Delaware Valley fouled Craig Thomas with 7.3 seconds remaining and he missed the first foul shot, but hit the second for a 77-74 score. Bollinger took the inbounds pass and dribbled down the court. Wilkes elected not to foul and Bollinger pulled up at the top of the key and drained a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining to tie the contest and send the Aggie crowd into a frenzy. Wilkes turned the ball over on the inbounds, but a long 3-point attempt by Lee at the buzzer was well off the mark and the game was headed to overtime.

Delaware Valley took command from the opening tap, as Beckett won the jump ball to Jay Donovan, who passed it to Daulton Derr for a layup just five seconds in. Beckett blocked a shot at the defensive end and Bollinger hit another long bomb to break the school record and give his team a five-point lead with 4:27 remaining.

Wilkes pulled to within three on two occasions over the next minutes, but the Aggies answered each times including a pull-up jumper by Bollinger with 2:34 to go. The Colnels then made it a one-point possession again at 88-85 after one free throw by Kendall Hinze with 1:12 remaining. Fourteen seconds later, Bollinger made it an even 50 with another pull-up jumper. After a Colonel miss, Lee sealed the game with a 3-pointer from the left corner with 25 seconds to go. Derr added two free throws with 15 ticks on the clock for the 95-85 final.

Wilkes led by as many as six in the first half before the teams went into the break tied at 31-31. The Colonels teams exchanged the lead seven times in the opening three and half minutes before a Hinze dunk gave Wilkes a one-point advantage with 16:22 remaining. The Colonels held onto the lead – building it to as many as 10 – until Bollinger's heroics at the end of regulation and then in the extra session.

Delaware Valley finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field, including a 6-for-7 effort (85.7%) in overtime. Beckett added 24 points, six rebounds and three blocks for Delaware Valley. Donovan finished with 10 points while Derr added seven points and nine boards.

Wilkes was just 1-for-7 from the field in the final minutes and shot 48.3 percent for the contest. The Colonels also hurt themselves by shooting just 60.5 percent from the foul line, including several key misses at the end of regulation. Paul Huch finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Hinze had 18 points. Breznitsky (13 points), Matt Mullins (12) and Jeremy Hartman (11) also hit double digits with Breznitsky also dishing out a game-high eight assists.