WILKES-BARRE (PA) – Delaware Valley College used a strong defensive effort and some key free throws down the stretch as the defending Freedom Conference champions gutted out a 62-58, road victory over league foe Wilkes University.
The win, combined with DeSales University's home loss to King's College, left the Aggies as the lone undefeated team in conference play in the early going as they improved to 8-6 overall and 3-0 in the Freedom. Delaware Valley will host DeSales on Saturday for its first home game since December 7.
Neither team could find an offensive rhythm all evening as the Aggies shot 33.9 percent from the field (19-for-56) while the Colonels (6-7, 1-2 Freedom) were just a little better at 38 percent (19-for-50). Both were also barely over the 50 percent mark from the foul line. The one different was from beyond the arc as eight of Delaware Valley's baskets were from there as it shot 47.1 percent compared to a 3-for-15 effort from Wilkes.
The Aggies used a 12-1 run in the first half, including the first five points from Francis Arnold, to build a 16-7 advantage with 8:47 to go before the break. The Colonels scored 16 of the next 22 points to go up one with 1:30 to go, but Delaware Valley answered with a free throw from Chris Moran, a trey from Nick Sullivan and two from the line from Arnold for a 28-23 lead at intermission.
Delaware Valley upped the lead to eight twice in the early portion of the second half, but the Aggies started to get in foul trouble and Arnold went out with an injury after seven minutes of action. In fact, three players had four fouls for most of the stanza.
The Aggie advantage went down to three, but a quick spurt made it a 47-38 contest with 8:41 remaining. It was 49-41 when the Colonels scored seven straight, including five from Cameron Hinkel, to make it a one-point score as the clock ticked under six minutes to play.
Nate Brown followed with a key 3-pointer for Delaware Valley and Hinkel hit a free throw before both teams missed numerous chances from the field and the line. Wilkes made it a one-point game with 3:21 to go but it could not get the lead. Zach Sly hit a free throw and, after a defensive stop, Moran hit a baseline jumper. Brown and Sly then each went 1-for-2 from the line for a 57-51 lead with just 1:07 left.
The Colonels made one last run as a 6-1 spurt cut the Aggie lead to one with 18 seconds left. Sullivan was fouled without any time coming off the clock and he hit both ends of a one-in-one for a three-point lead. Wilkes used a lot of time and Hinkel was fouled with five ticks to go. He hit one of his two foul shots and the Colonels then sent Jay Donovan to the line. The junior calmly hit both free throws to seal the win for Delaware Valley.
Despite missing most of the second half, Arnold led all scorers with 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Sullivan also sank three treys and finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Brown was big off the bench with 12 points and six boards in 19 minutes while Moran just missed a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.
Steve Blish was the lone Wilkes player to hit double digits in scoring as he had 10 points off the bench. Tyler Jackson added nine points while Nic Wilkins had eight points and a game-high 17 rebounds.