DELHI, NY - Despite a slow start and moments of extreme adversity, Villa Maria showed it's toughness and took down the SUNY Delhi Broncos 88-84 on Saturday afternoon, in the Vikings' first road game of the season as part of the Delhi Hall of Fame Tournament.  Villa shot nearly 55 percent from the floor in the second half which helped them edge out the Broncos in a hostile environment.

Villa (4-0) fell behind early as the Broncos fed off the crowd of nearly 300 who were there as part of Delhi's Hall of Fame Induction ceremony and weekend.  Delhi (0-1) led 12-0 and 19-4 and it wasn't until the 16:26 mark that Villa scored it's first basket.  Despite the poor start the Vikings were able to tie the game at 23 at the 8:25 mark thanks in part to a 17-2 run.

The Vikings took their first lead of the game at the 7:11 mark when senior Kwanique Martin hit one of his three first half field goals.  He scored six of eight points in a 1:38 stretch which gave Villa the edge.  Delhi was able to re-gain a six-point edge later in the half before Villa once again answered, this time with a 15-5 run to close the half.

The Vikings stretched their lead to 14 in the early stages of the second half after opening with a 9-0 run.  From there, the Vikings and Broncos were locked in a fight.  Delhi continued to try and chip at the lead but Villa clung to it, despite the home team's best shot.  Delhi got within as close as one point and were down 84-83 with 25 seconds left after a made three, but two Jonathan Pozo free throws helped push the lead back to three.  After one of two foul shots by the Broncos, Daniel Thompson sealed the win for Villa with two more made three throws.

Senior DeJaun Owens led all scorers with 22 points for Villa on 8-of-15 shooting and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.  Fellow senior Dominic Douglas scored 17.  Sophomore Lonnie Taylor battled through foul trouble to score 13 points in just 17 minutes and Pozo added 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists. 

Pozo hit both of his threes in the second half, both at times where his team needed them both.  The first came with 5:26 left and helped push the Villa lead to eight, 75-67.  The next came with 3:29 left to push the lead back to seven, 78-71, and halt the on-coming Delhi momentum.

After Taylor then hit a fast break layup to push the lead to nine, Delhi used a 7-0 run to get within two.  Pozo then hit two free throws to give Villa some breathing room with 1:26 left.  Two possessions later, Delhi scored to get back within two.  Taylor then once again scored in the paint to push the lead back to four with 41 seconds left.  Villa was able to close the show from there.  They led the entire second half.

Villa shot 49.3 percent for the game while Delhi shot just 39.2 percent.  The Vikings out-scored the Broncos in the paint, 48-36, and also had 16 fast break points to Delhi's four.  Villa's three point defense was also great as they held Delhi to 8-of-35 from beyond the arc.

Junior guard Jabari Hibbert scored six points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists and had two steals in 31 minutes for Villa.  Junior Daniel Thompson added six points off the bench while sophomore Gerald Bibbs also came off the bench to add four points and seven rebounds.

All five starters were in double-figures for Delhi as they were paced by Justin Daoud and William Knight each scored 13 but were a combined 10-of-30 from the floor and 5-of-19 from three.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Vikings will now take on The Apprentice School in the tournament's championship game at 4 p.m. on Sunday.  The Builders took down Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse in the tournament's opening game 97-64.  This will be the first ever meeting between the Vikings and Builders.

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