The Bulldogs improved to 16-8 overall and 7-6 in conference play with one game remaining. They stayed in contention as Lycoming (8-5 Freedom) and Wilkes (8-5 Freedom) lost Scranton and King’s respectively. The Aggies fell to 5-19 overall and 2-11 in the Freedom with the loss.
The first half was a back and forth affair that featured three ties and seven lead changes. DeSales led by five with 4:57 remaining, but back-to-back baskets by Josh Taylor and Ryan Thomas pulled the Aggies to within one, 25-24, with 3:25 to go before the intermission. However, Christmas hit a 3-pointer and a layup to give DeSales a six-point advantage at the break.
Delaware Valley got to within five in the early moments of the second half, but the Bulldogs used a 9-0 run, including five by Christman, to built a 40-26 lead with 15:09 remaining. Delaware Valley never got closer than six points the rest of the way.
Christman shot 9-for-15 from the field, including a 4-for-8 effort from beyond the arc for his big evening. Seadale Walton also hit double digits for DeSales with 14 points.
Isaiah Pinckney paced Delaware Valley with 10 points while senior Maurice Slaughter, playing in his last home game, had nine points and five rebounds. Zack Van Dyke came off the bench to add seven points and five boards.