READING (PA) – In his first game back from an injury, Jay Donovan finished tied for team-high honors with 22 points and hit four crucial 3-pointers in a two-minute span late in the contest, as Delaware Valley College rallied for an 87-82 road victory over Penn State Berks.

It was the last non-conference game of the year for the Aggies, who improved to 7-6 overall. Freedom Conference action will resume for the defending champions next Wednesday, January 15 when they take their 2-0 league mark to Wilkes University.

Donovan missed both games of the Sponaugle New Year's Tournament at Franklin & Marshall College last Thursday and Friday as Delaware Valley took the runner-up spot. He came off the bench on Wednesday evening and saw 11 minutes of action in the opening half. Donovan had seven points in the stanza with the final three coming on a bomb with seven seconds to go.

However, that 3-pointer by Donovan only pulled the Aggies to within four, 38-34, as the Lions (2-7) trailed for just six seconds in the first half thanks to 51.5 percent shooting from the field (17-for-33). Meanwhile, Delaware Valley connected on just 35 percent of its shots (13-for-37).

The Aggies opened the second half by scoring 10 of the first 14 points, including a 3-pointer by Nick Sullivan that gave them a 44-42 advantage. Penn State Berks responded with a 10-3 spurt and a five-point lead and they still maintained a five-point advantage as the clocked ticked under the halfway point of the stanza.                                                                                           

Sullivan hit another trey as part of a 6-1 spurt that tied the game, but the Lions went back ahead and held a 65-62 lead after Joel Ellison hit two free throws with 7:04 to go.

That's when Donovan took over. After both teams missed opportunities, the junior swingman sank a trey with 6:27 left to tie the contest. Penn State Berks missed a 3-pointer at the other end and Donovan came down and hit another with 5:56 to go. Ellison broke through for a layup for the Lions but Francis Arnold found Donovan for another bomb and a four-point lead. After a turnover by Penn State Berks and missed shots by both squads, it was Sullivan who found an open Donovan and he hit again from beyond the arc for a 74-67 Aggie lead with 4:51 remaining.

Delaware Valley pushed its lead to eight, 81-73, with 1:37 to go before the Lions went on a 9-2 run to make it an 83-82 game with just 27 seconds left. Tom Smith keyed the rally for Penn State Berks as he scored the final five points.

Sullivan was fouled with 15 ticks on the clock and the junior calmly hit both opportunities for a three-point lead. Smith missed a game-tying 3-point attempt and Sullivan grabbed the rebound and was fouled with three seconds left. He hit two more from the line for the 87-82 victory.

Delaware Valley, which was still without the services of injured point guard Zach Sly, improved its shooting in the second half as it connected on exactly 50 percent of its shots from the field, including 8-for-15 (53.3%) from beyond the arc. In fact, 14 of the Aggies' 24 made field goals in the game were 3-pointers.

Donovan was 8-for-12 from the field, including 5-for-9 from 3-point land, for his 22 points in 26 minutes of action. Sullivan also had 22 points as he four treys (and one other field) and was 8-for-10 from the foul line. Zach Sibel hit a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 10 points while Arnold and Chris Moran had nine points apiece. Arnold added six assists while Moran grabbed eight rebounds.

Smith was 10-for-16 from the field and netted a game-high 23 points for the Lions. He also had nine boards. Darren Major connected for 20 points while Christian Burggraf had 15 points and six assists.