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Center Valley, PA (February 8, 2014) – Sophomore Cody Deal hit two clutch three-pointers with under two minutes left and senior Mike Coleman sealed the win hitting 4-for-4 from the line in the closing moments leading the Bulldogs past Misericordia University, 68-60, in Freedom Conference action on Saturday afternoon in Billera Hall.

The win coupled with an Eastern win at Delaware Valley and a Wilkes win over Manhattanville gives DSU (13-8, 7-3 Freedom) sole possession of first place in the Freedom Conference standings with four games left in the regular season.  However, there is a four-way tie for second place with all four teams trailing the Bulldogs by just one game in the loss column with only four spots available in the post-season.

Five players reached double digits for the Bulldogs including senior Kyle Hash with team-high 15 points.  Deal finished with 12 points, on four three-pointers and added five rebounds, Coleman and freshman Brian Laird each had 11 points, and junior Travis Bryan continued his outstanding play with his first career double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds, as well as the first double-double of the season for any Bulldog.  The 10 points were a career-high and he also added four blocks in the win.

Steve Ware was terrific for the Cougars, totaling 20 points and nine rebounds, while Joe Busacca added 16 points and Erik Kerns finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.  DSU held MU's second leading scorer, senior Matt Greene, to just three points on 1-of-10 shooting, all from outside the arc.

Another tight game in Billera Hall featured six ties and 10 lead changes with the final tie coming at 58 all with 2:37 left to play after Hash hit on two free throws for DeSales.

Busacca was off the mark on the next possession from outside the arc and Deal hit a huge three from the top of the key giving DSU a 61-58 lead with 1:47 left to play.

Freshman Griffin Sponaugle hit two free throws on the Cougars next possession cutting the margin back down to one point and MU got a steal in transition but a lay-up from Busacca was off the mark and Coleman was there to clear the board.

DSU called timeout with 1:08 remaining and after working the ball around the perimeter of MU's zone defense, senior Paul Pammer found Deal with a beautiful skip pass in the right corner and Deal hit nothing but cotton on his fourth three of the game giving the Bulldogs a 64-60 lead with 51 seconds left.

Busacca saw his lay-up blocked by Bryan out of bounds and three consecutive attempts by Ware were off the mark underneath the hoop as Deal grabbed the board and Coleman was fouled with 23 seconds left.

Coleman hit both freebies and two more with eight seconds left giving DSU the eight-point win and sole possession of first place as enter the final two weeks of the regular season.

The Bulldogs were hot to start the game; hitting four three's over the first eight minutes and led 18-9 at the 10:52 mark of the first-half.  MU used an 11-2 run to tie the game at 20 and scored the final four points of the half to lead 31-27 at the break.

DSU looked to control of the game mid-way thru the second-half using a 9-0 run to break a tie at 41, taking a 50-41 lead thanks to a three-point play from freshman Ryan Callahan and a triple from Hash, but the Cougars refused to quit chipping away at the deficit over the next six minutes, tying the game at 56 with 4:31 left setting up the final stages of the game.

The Bulldogs shot 42.9 percent from the field and dominated the glass, out-rebounding MU, 42-31.  The Cougars forced 17 Bulldog turnovers and committed just eight themselves giving Miseri an 18-9 edge in points off the turnovers.  The DeSales bench out-scored Misericordia's, 31-4, in the game.  MU was just 2-for-17 from three-point land.

DSU takes its one-game lead for the top spot in the conference on the road on Wednesday when they travel to Manhattanville College, one of the four teams tied for second, in a critical road contest beginning at 8:00 pm.