DOYLESTOWN (PA) – In a battle of undefeated teams, Delaware Valley University had a game-tying 3-point attempt go in-and-out at the buzzer as the Aggies dropped their home opener to non-conference foe Hood College, 67-64.

The setback dropped the defending Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom champions to 3-1 on the young season while the Blazers, members of the MAC Commonwealth, upped their mark to 5-0.

The Aggies rallied from a 17-point, second-half deficit and took a 59-57 lead on Manny Brown's trey with 4:19 remaining. Hood responded with eight of the game's next 10 points, for a four-point advantage. Brown hit another bomb with 1:35 to go to make it 65-64, but Trevor Magnuski countered with two free throws for the Blazers with 33 ticks remaining.

The Aggies missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and they fouled Scott Bolen with eight seconds left. He missed both free throws and DelVal snagged the defensive rebound, giving the team a shot at the end. Hood fouled Alex Matsinye near halfcourt, sending the sophomore to the free throw line with 5.5 seconds left. Matsinye missed the front end of the 1-and-1. The rebound came to him near the foul line and he dished it over to teammate Mike Cianciulli. Cianciulli, who came off the bench to hit a trio of 3-pointers earlier in the half, got a good look at the tying shot, but it didn't drop in and the Blazers escaped with the win.

Hood used a zone defense to limit the Aggies to 28 percent shooting in the first half, including a 2-for-15 effort (13.3 percent) from beyond the arc. The Blazers took advantage of the long misses to hold an 8-0 advantage in fast-break points and eventually took a 33-22 lead into the intermission.

Hood then opened the second stanza with an 8-2 run, including a 3-pointer by Trevor Magnuski with 17:09 remaining that made it a 41-24 contest. DelVal responded with six straight points thanks to a putback from Tyrea Williams, a Brown steal and dunk and a layup from Tyliek Kimbrough. That ignited a 20-4 run that included Cianciulli's three triples. His last came with 11:15 and it pulled the Aggies to within one at 45-44.

A layup by Hood's Luke Casey was answered by Matsinye and Williams followed with a putback dunk at the midway point of the half to give DelVal its first lead since six minutes into the game. The teams traded the lead over the next six-plus minutes before the Blazers had a late spurt and held on at the end.

Hood went to the foul line 22 times (12-for-22) compared to just nine (3-for-9) for the Aggies. It also held a 49-43 advantage on the boards. Bolen had 13 points and 10 rebounds while Ruiz and Magnuski had 12 and 11 points respectively.

Brown came off the bench to score 14 points in 19 minutes for DelVal. Williams finished with 13 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks while Kimbrough added 10 points, six boards and four assists before fouling out. Cianciulli had nine points while Matsinye notched seven points and six rebounds.

DelVal travels to Stockton University for a non-conference game on Monday, November 28 (7 p.m.).