CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (February 15, 2020) – The SUNY Delhi men's basketball team's eighth straight win to close out the regular season did not come easy in a come-from-behind 83-82 thriller at Pine Manor on Saturday. Though the Broncos handled the Gators quite convincingly in last month's 87-58 home victory, PMC gave Delhi almost too much to handle in the rematch with a 54.2 field goal percentage, led by 26 points from Sayvonn Houston and 22 points for Jalen Williams. Williams' final two points gave Pine Manor an 82-81 lead with 30 seconds left, but Delhi's Jordan Fragale connected for the game-winning basket with just four seconds on the clock to escape the swamp with an 18-7 record entering the postseason.

Saturday's finish produced nearly a similar scenario to both teams' matchup in last year's ACAA Semifinals, where Fragale came through with a last-second game-winner in Delhi's road to the ACAA title. The two teams may cross paths again, as the Broncos are set to host the ACAA Tournament as the number-one seed, with the Gators the three seed. Delhi will play four-seed Valley Forge in the semifinals Saturday, Feb. 29 at 4:00 p.m., after which PMC will square off versus two-seed UC Santa Cruz at 6:30 p.m. The finalists will compete for the conference championship on Sunday, Mar. 1 at 12:00 p.m.

Neither side held more than a nine-point lead throughout the afternoon, but both teams' highest point spread served as noteworthy chapters for the contest. The Broncos appeared to have a grip on the game early with an 18-9 lead seven minutes in, only for Pine Manor to pull ahead, led by 14 first-half markers from Williams, for a narrow 39-38 lead at halftime. The Gators looked to take control in the second half by biting into a 66-57 advantage with 8:09 left. But Delhi kept its cool and used a 13-4 run to tie things up at 70-70 with 5:11 to play.

Both sides exchanged buckets over the next three minutes before Houston's layup gave PMC a two-possession lead at 80-76 with 1:43 remaining. In a regular season filled with great performances by Delhi's seniors, upperclassman Carlos Ithier came through with the late heroics, drilling an ensuing 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one, then made a pair of free throws to put the Broncos up by one at 81-80 with 41 seconds left. The Broncos then called their last timeout in hopes of holding off the Gators for at least one more play, but Williams' jumper put PMC back in front with 30 seconds left. With Delhi using nothing but instinct on its last possession, the point guard Fragale let the clock drip down to only a few short moments, then capitalized for the game-winning jumper with four seconds left. PMC's last gasp resulted in a turnover off a Payton Dean steal.

While Delhi shot a respectable 46.4 percent (32-for-69) and 7-of-24 on threes, Pine Manor more than doubled the Broncos' free-throw productivity. The Gators sank 25-of-31 from the charity stripe to Delhi's 12-of-18, while shooting 26-of-48 from the floor and 5-of-15 on threes. PMC's Williams and Houston were perfect on their free-throw attempts at 6-for-6 and 8-for-8, respectively. The green and gold were guilty of 21 fouls, with Dean, Mavenson Therneus and Justin Daoud being called for four each that considerably hindered their time on the court. The Gators held a narrow 33-32 lead in rebounds, though the Broncos led, 11-5, in offensive boards that produced a 15-6 lead in second-chance points. Delhi took 21 PMC turnovers for a 24-17 lead in points off turnovers.

Glenn Butler led the Broncos with 16 points and shooting 2-of-4 from 3-point range. Fragale finished with 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while Daoud collected 13 points and a team-high seven boards. Dean totaled nine points and seven rebounds, shooting 4-for-5 from the field, while Ithier and Therneus each recorded seven points. William Knight garnered six points, while Norman Wilson and Erhunosere Uwuigbe tallying three points. Uwuigbe added five boards to his credit.

With eight straight wins and victorious in ten of their last 11 games, head coach Zack Thomsen's team has two weeks to rest up and prepare for the ACAA Tournament. Saturday's victory gave the Broncos their highest season wins total in five seasons under Coach Thomsen, as well as Delhi's third win over the Gators in as many meetings. Delhi is also within sight of a USCAA National Tournament berth, with a number-four ranking in the latest USCAA Division I Coaches Poll. The eight at-large selections for the USCAA Division I Tournament will be announced Tuesday, Mar. 3, with the competition tipping off Thursday, Mar. 12.