Men's Basketball

Lycoming College 87, Delaware Valley 83

WILLIAMSPORT (PA) - Delaware Valley College's upset bid at Lycoming College fell four points short as the Aggies dropped an 87-83 decision in a Freedom Conference contest.

The loss dropped Delaware Valley to 8-13 overall and 3-7 in conference play while the Warriors remained tied with Wilkes University for the fourth and final playoff spot as they improved to 15-6, 6-4.

The Aggies trailed by 14, 84-70, with 4:41 remaining as Jonathan Pribble sank a long 3-pointer for Lycoming. However, Delaware Valley scored 11 consecutive points, including five by Meril Branch and four by Isaiah Pinckney, to make it a three-point ballgame with 41 seconds remaining.

Brad Musser was sent to the line for the Warriors 11 seconds later and he missed the front end of one-in-one, but Nick Myer grabbed the offensive rebound and Pribble was fouled with 21 seconds to go. Pribble missed the first foul shot, but hit the second for an 85-81.

Branch's layup with 12 seconds remaining made it 85-83 and Shaun Morris was fouled two seconds later. Morris sank both free throws to seal the deal for Lycoming.

The Warriors used a 12-4 run at the end of the first half to build a 46-31 advantage at the break. They then went up 56-37 in the opening three minutes of the second stanza for the largest lead of the game. Delaware Valley cut its deficit to seven, 74-67, with 6:57 remaining, but Lycoming went on a 10-3 spurt for the 14-point lead that set the stage for the final minutes of the contest.

Branch came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points in 26 minutes of action. Pinckney played all 40 minutes and finished with 23 points as both he and Branch notched 16 points apiece in the second half. Randall Graves and Maurice Slaughter had 10 points each with Graves also adding four assists and four steals. Orlon Baker contributed eight points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the loss.

Pribble scored a game-high 31 points, including five treys, for the Warriors. He also added five rebounds, four assists and four of the team's 11 blocks. Kevin Morris had 16 points while Curtis Mays and Jeremiah Edison added 12 and 11 respectively. Shaun Morris finished with eight points and nine assists.