Basketball

FDU-Florham 71, Delaware Valley College 69

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - Senior center Brian Rimol's hit a layup with 1.8 seconds remaining lifted the FDU-Florham men's basketball team to a 71-69 victory over host Delaware Valley College in a Freedom Conference game.

The win was the sixth straight for the Devils as they improved to 12-4 overall and 4-1 in conference action while the Aggies dropped to 3-13 overall and 1-4 in the league.

Delaware Valley rallied from a 12-point, second-half deficit and took a 69-67 lead as Eric Lawton hit a jumper from the top of the key with 47.5 seconds left. FDU-Florham's ensuing possession saw Frank Emslie go to the foul line and hit both shots to tie the game with 27.6 seconds to go.

The Aggies then called a timeout with 10.2 seconds left to set up a final play. However, Lawton was ruled to have stepped on the line and out of bounds after receiving the entry pass. That gave the Devils the ball at halfcourt and, following a timeout, Brian Dillon drove into the paint and dished a perfect pass to a wide-open Rimol. Rimol then laid it in off the backboard after double-clutching in the air to avoid an Aggie defender coming over for the block for the game-winning basket. Isaiah Pinckney's desperation 3-point from beyond halfcourt did not come close and FDU-Florham escaped with the victory.

The Devils held a slim, 35-33 lead at halftime and they then scored the first seven points of the second stanza and eventually built a 53-41 advantage with 12:18 remaining. Delaware Valley responded with a 13-0 run, including 10 points by Zack Van Dyke, to take a 54-53 lead with 8:43 left on the clock again. The game then went back and forth until Rimol's heroics at the end.

Rimol was one of four Devils to reach double figures in scoring and he had 12 points to go along with nine rebounds. Emslie netted a team-high 20 while Ryan McPherson and Pierre Schmitt finished with 13 and 10 points respectively.

Pinckney paced the Aggies with 24 points while Lawton had 19 points and six boards. Van Dyke added 12 points in the loss.