DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Delaware Valley College junior forward/center Chris Moran banked in a 35-foot shot at the buzzer to set off a wild celebration and give the Aggies a 77-74 victory over Freedom Conference rival DeSales University in a battle of first-place teams.

Both teams entered the game at 7-2 and tied with Misericordia University for first place in the conference (Delaware Valley was 12-8 overall while DeSales was 15-5 overall). Misericordia, which started an hour earlier, posted a two-point win over Wilkes, meaning that the winner would remain tied with the Cougars atop the standings with four games to go.

The Bulldogs appeared to be on the way to the win when Travis Bryan hit a pair of free throws with 2:02 left for a 74-70 lead. Neither team scored for a minute until Delaware Valley's Francis Arnold hit a pair of free throws. With 39 seconds to go, Zach Sly stole the ball from an DeSales player and fed Arnold for a layup thee ticks later and a 74-74 contest.

DeSales nearly turned the ball over twice on its next possession before calling a timeout. After the break, Kuity Slanger drove the basket and the Aggies' Zach Sibel was called for a foul with 2.3 seconds left. However, Slanger missed both free throw attempts, Arnold grabbed the rebound and Delaware Valley called timeout with 1.6 seconds to go to set the stage.

Sly inbounded ball in front of the DeSales bench and found Moran just two steps past halfcourt. Moran took one dribble and launched a shot that looked good from the moment it left his hands. It banked off the backboard and in and pandemonium broke loose in James Work Gymnasium as the student body and others in the crowd of 900 stormed the court around Moran.

Moran's miracle was the end of a fantastic display of Division III basketball that featured 12 ties and 15 lead changes. There were eight ties and eight lead changes in the first half alone as the Bulldogs took a 35-34 lead into the break thanks to an end-to-end run and layup at the buzzer by Slanger. Neither team led by more than four in the opening 20 minutes with DeSales shooting 47.1 percent from the field while the Aggies hit five of 12 attempts from 3-point land.

The teams were tied at 40-40 three minutes into the second half when the Bulldogs scored of the game's next 15 points for the largest lead of the day at 52-43 with 14:13 to go. Brian Laird had nine points in the run, including a four-point play.

DeSales still led by six with 11 minutes remaining when Delaware Valley countered with a 9-2 spurt, including four from Moran, to retake the lead at 63-62. Back-to-back layups by Cody Deal gave the Bulldogs a three-point advantage and they were still up three when Moran hit inside and followed it up with a breakaway dunk for a 69-68 Aggie lead with 4:07 remaining.

Arnold hit one of two free throws 36 seconds later but Deal answered with two of his own to tie it again with 3:06 left. Slanger drove inside for a layup with 2:30 to go and Bryan hit his two free throws shortly after for the 74-70 lead. But those were the final points for DeSales as the Aggies rallied to tie and then won on Moran's heroics.

Delaware Valley shot 45.2 percent from the field (28-for-62), including an 11-for-27 effort (40.7 percent) from 3-point land. The Aggies committed just three turnovers all afternoon while forcing 15 from the Bulldogs.

Moran finished with 13 points, including 11 in the second half. Arnold had a game-high 23 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Barry Brockington came off the bench and had his best game in an Aggie uniform as he drained five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points in 21 minutes.

DeSales shot 51.7 percent from the field (30-for-58), including a 58.3 percent clip (14-for-24) in the second half. The Bulldogs dominated the board with a 43-23 advantage, including 13 on the offensive end that led 15 second-chance points.

Deal hit four treys and ended with 20 points and nine rebounds. Laird notched 15 points while Bryan had 14 points and 10 boards. Slanger's numbers included nine points, six rebounds and six assists.