DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Delaware Valley College went on an 11-0 run in the latter stages of the second half as the host Aggies pulled away to an 81-69 victory over Wilkes University in a Freedom Conference game.
The win was the third straight for Delaware Valley as it improved to 8-5 overall and 2-1 in conference action. The Colonels fell to 7-6 and 0-3.
Down 8-2 early, the Aggies took the lead for good midway through the first half and eventually took a 33-26 lead into the break. They then pushed the advantage to 12, 52-40, as Jay Donovan sank a 3-pointer with 11:20 remaining.
Wilkes chipped away its deficit and a Chris Shovlin 3-pointer from the top of the key made it a 58-54 contest with 7:30 remaining. However, the next two minutes belonged to Delaware Valley as it scored 11 straight thanks to five points from Daulton Derr, four from Donovan and two from Francis Arnold. The Colonels never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
Both teams shot 58.6 percent from the field in the second half with both finishing above 45 percent for the game. A big difference was the foul line as the Aggies hit 16 of 19 while Wilkes was just 9-for-20.
Two-time all-Freedom honoree Jeremy Beckett finished with game-highs of 26 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. In the process, the senior forward/center moved into fourth place on the Aggies' all-time rebounding list (813) as well as 10th on the scoring list (1,233 points). He is already the school's career leader in blocked shots with 216.
Derr added 19 points, including 14 in the second half. Arnold notched 13 points and six assists while Donovan finished with 12 points. Freshman Zach Sly had seven assists and no turnovers and Delaware Valley gave the ball away just 10 times in the game.
Shovlin tallied 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Wilkes. Pat Furst had 10 points while Tyler Breznitsky added nine.