DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Connor Jones hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left and DeSales University made a defensive stand at the end as the visiting Bulldogs spoiled Delaware Valley University's Senior Day with a 69-67, Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom victory.

DeSales improved to 19-6 overall and 10-4 in the conference. The Bulldogs will be the number three seed for next week's MAC Freedom tournament and will travel to number two Eastern University for a semifinal match-up on Wednesday, February 21.

For the Aggies, they wrapped up the 2017-18 campaign with a 5-20 overall record and a 3-11 mark in the league. They say good-bye to seniors Ryan Naccarato and Austin Stoeckel, who were honored in a pre-game ceremony.

DelVal took only its fourth lead of the second half with 38 seconds left when Joe Russel got free inside and Lybrant Robinson found him for a layup to make it 67-66. DeSales called timeout to set up their play. Evans got open in the left corner and drilled the trey to make it 69-67.

Robinson got the ball in the paint at the other end, but his floater was blocked by Julian Wing. The ball went out of bounds and it was still the Aggies' possession with 1.7 seconds left. Following timeouts by each team, Andre' Butler caught the inbounds and tried an off-balanced 3-pointer for the win. However, it was off the mark and the Bulldogs escaped with the win.

The first half saw both teams shoot better than 42 percent from the field and they were deadlocked at 36-36 at the break. DeSales opened the second stanza with a 12-5 spurt for a seven-point advantage. The team was still up seven with 12:52 to go when DelVal countered with an 8-0 run – a pair of free throws from Robinson and back-to-back treys by Stoeckel and Naccarato – for a one-point lead.

It was short-lived as the Bulldogs scored the next six points. Then after falling behind by one, DeSales got four in a row for a 62-59 lead with 3:56 remaining. Back came the Aggies with consecutive layups by Alex Matsinye and Joe Russel. Steven Ciotti countered with a bomb at the other end before Matinsye got inside for a game-tying bucket, 65-65, with 2:18 left. The teams went multiple possessions without a score before Tracy Simsick hit one of two free throws. Russell followed with his basket before Jones hit the game-winner for DeSales.

Jones finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. Simsick led the team with 14 points while Kewku Dawson-Amoah had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

In his final collegiate game, Stoeckel was 8-for-10 from the field, including 3-for-5 from 3-point land, for a career-high 21 points. He also had eight rebounds on the afternoon. Robinson came off the bench to pour in 16 point while Matsinye had 10 points. Butler finished with seven points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Naccarato hit one trey and scored five points.