Doylestown, PA, (February 14, 2006) – The DeSales University men’s basketball team kept itself alive for a Freedom Conference playoff berth by defeating Delaware Valley College, 62-43, in Freedom Conference action on Tuesday evening in James Work Gymnasium.

 

        DeSales (16-8, 7-6 Freedom) used a stifling defense to hold the Aggies (5-19, 2-11 Freedom) to 34 percent shooting and just 43 points to record the win.  The Bulldogs also canned 10 three-pointers and held a 40-31 edge on the boards as DSU now needs a win at Scranton on Saturday and hope a few other things fall into place this week giving them the fourth and final Freedom Conference playoff spot.

 

        The Bulldogs took the lead for good late in the first half, turning a 19-18 deficit into a 24-19 lead on consecutive three’s from freshman Ed Lapinski (Red Hill, PA/Upper Perkiomen) and Jeff Raimo (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic).

 

        Senior Drew Christman (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) closed the half with five straight points and DSU enjoying a six-point lead, 30-24.  Christman had 10 points and seven other Bulldogs scored in the first half.

 

        The Bulldogs took control early in the second-half using an 14-2 run to take a 45-28 lead with 14:06 to play on a fast break dunk by junior Sedale Walton (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman).  The Aggies answered the Bulldog spurt with 11 straight points to cut the margin back down to six points as Zach Van Dyke and Maurice Slaughter combined for nine of the 11 points.

 

        DSU regained control following a timeout and out-scored Delaware Valley 17-4 over the last 9:49 as the Bulldogs defense held the Aggies to just 1-for-6 shooting from the field over the last 10 minutes to post the final 19-point margin.

 

        Christman finished with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.  Walton also reached double digits with 14 points and sophomore Phil Stricker (Womelsdorf, PA/Conrad Weiser) totaled nine points and grabbed seven rebounds.

 

        Junior Isaiah Pinckney was the lone player in double digits for the Aggies with 10 points and senior Maurice Slaughter added nine points in the losing effort.