DOYLESTOWN (PA) – The Delaware Valley University men's basketball team placed five players in double-digit scoring to earn an 88-67, Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom victory over visiting Eastern University on Wednesday night.
The win is the second league victory in a row for the Aggies who improved to 4-14 overall and 2-5 in MAC Freedom games. The Eagles entered tonight tied for first place in the conference, but fell to 10-8 overall and 5-2 in league play.
DelVal found itself down by four after Antonio Chapman hit a trey to put Eastern ahead, 7-3, early in the game. The Aggies then went on a 12-1 run, led by six points from rookie Lybrant Robinson, to open up a seven-point lead at 15-8.
William Blet hit a layup at the other end before DelVal's offense went back to work, scoring 10 of the next 12 points, bookended by an Andre' Butler 3-pointer and a layup to put the Aggies up 25-12 with just under 10 minutes left in the half. Later in the stanza, Austin Chabot connected on his fourth trey of the first half to make it a 16-point game, 32-16. DelVal would eventually take a 43-32 lead into the locker room.
The Aggies opened the second half on a 6-2 run before the Eagles countered with a 12-2 spurt of its own to pull within six, 51-45. Austin James led Eastern in that stretch with a pair of three's.
DelVal responded quickly with a 14-0 run over the next four minutes of action to take a 65-45 lead with under 10 minutes left in regulation. Chabot and Damian Washington accounted for every bucket in the run with Washington scoring nine. The Aggies' lead ballooned to as many as 25 down the stretch as they closed out their second straight conference victory with the 88-67 final.
Butler led the team with 17 points on 6-of-5 shooting, including a pair of treys, to go with six boards and a game-high five assists. Chabot also netted 17 points with five 3-pointers on the night and Washington finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Matsinye grabbed a game-high 10 boards to go with 14 points and three assists. Robinson added 14 points and four rebounds and Joe Russel pitched in six points, four boards and three blocked shots. As a team, DelVal shot 52.5 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from 3-point land.
Eastern had three players score 10 points in Blet, Chapman and Victo Pena, but it was Darius Washington who led the squad with 19 points. Pena led the team with five rebounds.
The Aggies will look to make it three in a row when they travel to conference front-runner Wilkes University on Saturday, January 27 for a 3 p.m. tip.