DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Delaware Valley College moved into sole possession of second place in the Freedom Conference and handed DeSales University its first league loss of the year as the Aggies notched a 74-71 home thriller on Wednesday evening.

The victory was the fifth straight – all conference games – for the Aggies as they improved to 13-7 overall and 7-2 in the Freedom. That triumph, combined with Misericordia University's 67-66 loss to last-place Wilkes University, put Delaware Valley alone in second and just one game behind DeSales (16-4, 8-1) with five contests remaining. The Aggies also maintained a three-game lead over fourth-place teams FDU-Florham and King's College for a conference tournament berth (top four qualify), which would be their third in the last five years.

The Bulldogs used a 23-6 run over the last 10:51 of the first half to turn a 21-12 deficit into an eight-point halftime lead. Seven players scored for DeSales in the spurt, including Mike Coleman and Greg Peters who had five points apiece.

Delaware Valley fought back and took a 56-53 advantage when Francis Arnold drained a 3-pointer with 8:42 remaining. The lead was short-lived as the Bulldogs countered with six straight. The teams then had three ties and four lead changes over the next seven minutes, including when Paul Pammer hit a layup inside with 1:53 left on the clock to give DeSales a 65-64 advantage.

The Aggies responded at the other end as Zach Sibel grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Daulton Derr, who nailed a trey for two-point lead. On the Bulldogs' possession, Brett Moyer was fouled with 1:04 left, but he hit just one of two at the line. Delaware Valley came down and, as the shot clock was winding down, Jeremy Beckett hit inside for a 69-66 lead with 34 ticks to go.

DeSales called timeout near its bench, but Zach Sly stole the ensuing inbounds pass and hit a layup for a five-point advantage with 25 seconds remaining. Pammer hit a free throw for the Bulldogs on their possession and they then fouled Arnold, who calmly both of his attempts for a 72-67 score.

A Mile Coleman basket for DeSales was matched by two free throws from the Aggies' Nick Sullivan to keep it a five-point game with nine seconds to go. Michael Guldin made it a one-possession contest with a layup with four ticks on the clock. Arnold was fouled again, but this time he missed both and DeSales called time with 1.2 seconds remaining. However, a long pass to Coleman was tipped away by Arnold, the clock ran out and Delaware Valley had the big conference victory.

The Aggies shot 49 percent from the field, including a 6-for-10 showing from beyond the arc. Sly, a freshman, scored a career-high 22 points as he was 6-for-10 from the field and 10-for-13 from the foul line. Arnold finished with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists while Derr poured in 17 points. Beckett, who had a pair of thunderous dunks in the second half, ended the evening with 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Moyer had 18 points and seven rebounds to pace DeSales, which shot 55.3 percent from the field (53.8 percent from 3-point land). Coleman added 17 points while Pammer and Michael Guldin had nine points apiece.