Delhi, NY - The Delhi Men's Basketball team hosted the North Atlantic West Divison Final today and were crowned division champs beating SUNY Cobleskill 86-76 in overtime. The Broncos advance to their first-ever NAC Championship appearance since joining the conference.
In the first half, the Broncos came out cold with Cobleskill jumping out to an 18-4 lead around halfway. Delhi would then settle down and start chipping away at the Tiger's lead, outscoring them 26-15 through the rest of the way. Despite not making a three, going (0-for-14), Delhi found their footing as they went into the half up 33-30. Senior Mavenson Therneus would be the team's top scorer with 11 points.
The second half was a back-and-forth battle from the jump with Delhi grabbing their second lead of the night, 47-46, at the 13 and half minute mark. The energy would switch back over to the home team as this would propel the Broncos onto an eight-to-zero scoring run.
It would go down to the final seconds in regular time as it was tied 67-67 with a minute and a half remaining. Isiah Barnes would hit a huge two-point jumper to go 69-67 with just a minute remaining. Cobleskill answered right back, knocking down a jump shot to tie the game with just 18.9 seconds remaining. Both teams would then miss their chance to win, sending the game to overtime.
Overtime would be all Delhi as they grabbed a quick lead and kept their momentum throughout. A huge three from Pable Quinones that put the Broncos up 76-69 with less than three minutes remaining would be the nail in the coffin. They would use that momentum to hold off the Tigers for the rest of overtime, winning 86-76.
Delhi had numerous players step up when they really needed it. Five players would reach double-digits in scoring. Naphtali Regilus would have another monster game against his former team, providing a huge spark in the second half. He scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half including three important shots from deep. Therneus would end with the team-high 17 points as he added nine rebounds and four steals. Barns also had a solid game, playing really well down the stretch. He would record 16 points while dishing out seven assists. Quinones and Jacob Beach combined for 26 points, while Beach added his career-high 14 rebounds. Both players were key factors in the win until they both eventually fouled out.
After losing in the NAC West Final last year to SUNY Poly, head coach Zack Thomsen and the team advance to their first-ever NAC Championship since joining the conference. They also finish their season going undefeated at home through the regular season and playoffs as they won 14 games in Delhi, a program first in the NCAA.
The Broncos will now travel to play Maine Farmington for the NAC Championships on February 25th.
