DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Delaware Valley College built a 17-point, second-half lead, and had to hit key free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 72-68 Freedom Conference win over visiting Manhattanville College.

The Aggies improved to 12-8 overall and a 7-2 mark in league play that puts them in a three-way tie atop the standings thanks to a DeSales University triumph at Misericordia University.  DeSales will come to Doylestown this Saturday, February 7 for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off with the winner having at least a share of first place in the Freedom with four games to play.

Manhattanville (6-14, 2-7) controlled the pace for the first half of the opening stanza and held a 23-10 lead after a pair of free throws from Juan Camacho with 10:45 on the clock.  Barry Brockington scored the next five for Delaware Valley, but the Valiants still held a 10-point, 31-21 advantage with just under six minutes remaining in the half.

From there, the Aggies exploded with a 21-3 run on 9-for-11 shooting to close the half and take a 42-34 lead into the break. Seven different players scored for Delaware Valley over that stretch including a pair of 3's from Francis Arnold and four points for Zach Sibel, who came off the bench and also contributed a big block down the stretch.

In the second half, Manhattanville got a steal from Timmy McCauley that led to a Victor Troya layup to stay within eight with 15 minutes remaining.  However, the Aggies responded with an 11-2 run that was sparked by the bench as four points came from Jose Ortiz and Jay Donovan knocked down a long-range trey.

With 5:03 to play, Delaware Valley held onto a 10 point advantage before McCauley hit a three-pointer and Andre Winter added a layup to quickly cut the deficit to five. The trio of Camacho, McCauley and Winter combined for 11 straight points by the Valiants to will the squad to within three at 67-64 with 1:42 left in regulation.

On the ensuing possession the Aggies tried a 3-pointer from Chris Moran that was off the mark and Anthony Maestre hit a free throw on the other end to make it a two-point game.  Arnold missed a drive, but Brockington was there to grab the offensive board. Arnold was then fouled with 22 seconds left and hit both ends of the one-in-one for a two-possession game.

Manhattanville came down and had Camacho hit a 3-pointer five seconds later to make it a one-point game. The Valiants fouled Arnold and the senior again hit two foul shots for a three point lead. Camacho got a good look at a game-tying 3-pointer from the left corner, but it was slightly off the mark and Zibel grabbed the defensive board and was fouled with 2.2 seconds to go. He hit one of two free throws to seal the win.

Arnold scored 19 points and added five rebounds and five assists. Brockington and Moran had 10 points apiece and combined for 11 rebounds. Six-foot-nine center Manny Ochenje had eight points and 10 rebounds and missed the single-game record for blocks by one as he had eight rejections on the night.

Maestre and Winter had 17 points apiece to lead the Valiants. Camacho added 13 points in the loss.