PHOENIXVILLE, PA – Due to some scheduling conflicts in Central Pennsylvania, the University of Valley Forge Men's Basketball Team was the fortunate recipient of another home contest in their regular season finale.  Instead of taking a two-hour road trip, they hosted Central Penn College on Wednesday, February 25^th.  After squandering away many second half leads, the Patriots of Valley Forge were able to find a way to hold on and beat the Knights, 85-82.
 
The Knights (16-7) came into the game ranked #3 in the USCAA II and having scored over 100 points in three straight games.  They have a wealth of firepower, led by 6' 4'' senior forward Devon Dorsey, who averages 22 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.  If the Patriots were going to be able to beat the Knights, their defense was going to need to be a major factor.
 
The first half saw both teams score early and often.  Just eight minutes into the game, the Knights had already built a 24-16 lead.  The Patriots knew they needed to slow the Knights down, and convert on the offensive end.  Brandon Rembert stepped up on the defensive end and got back-to-back steals, sparking a 6-0 run and forcing the Knights to call a timeout.  The Patriots continued to get stops, and at 7:14 of the first half, Brandon Summers hit a running layup to tie it up at 30-30.  Summers, and teammate Thorne McIntosh, provided a big lift off the bench in the first half as each player netted 6 points. 
 
Valley Forge continued to force turnovers on the defensive end, and capitalized on offense, scoring 13 straight points to take a 37-30 lead.  The Knights found a way to keep things close for the remainder of half, and went into the locker room trailing 42-47.  They had Devon Dorsey to thank for that.  The Knight's forward had a big first half, scoring 21 points and grabbing 5 rebounds.
 
After five straight points from Patriots' Joseph Taylor to start the second half, Knights' guard Dominique Twiggs scored seven straight points of his own to bring the margin back to three, 52-49.   A few minutes later, it was yet another Patriots' bench player who provided a spark.  This time it was Jonathan Kinyanjui, who rattled off eight straight points, including two 3-pointers, to give the Patriots a seven-point lead.  Then, with 10:33 remaining, another 3-pointer from Kinyanjui gave the Patriots a 73-62.
 
Just when the Patriots started pulling away, the Knights found a way to come right back.  Over the next five minutes, they did not let the Patriots score and went on an 11-0 scoring run to tie it up at 73-73.  New ball game.
 
"The key to this game was our defense," said Patriots' Head Coach Jon Mack after the game. "When we took good shots and took care of the ball, we were able to set up our defense and keep the Knights in front of us.  We had a lot of success with that and were able to build several leads, but when we turned the ball over or took bad shots, they capitalized off our mistakes and got back in the game."
 
Desperate to end the scoring drought and turn the momentum, senior Kevin Mack stepped up yet again.  He has had a knack for hitting big shots at the right time throughout the year.  This time, coming off a drive and kick from Jerome Staley, Mack drained a 3-pointer at the 4:48 mark to break the tie and end the drought.  With the margin still three and 2:20 remaining, Staley found himself with the ball while the shot clock was nearing zero.  He pulled up for a mid-range jumper and nailed it, giving the Patriots some breathing room, 82-77.  However, the Knights had Devon Dorsey.  The senior made back-to-back jumpers to pull them back to within one, 82-81, with one minute remaining.  Dorsey finished with a game-high 32 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Then, it became a game of free throws.  Mack was fouled with 33 seconds to go, and made just one.  Then, Dorsey was fouled and he made just one.  Then the Patriots missed the front-end of a 1-and-1, twice!  The Knights had the ball with 21 seconds remaining, trailing 83-82, and a chance to take the lead.
 
The last time the Patriots were in this position, just one week ago on Senior Night, they lost to New Jersey City University on a last second layup.  In that game, the Patriots went to a 2-3 zone on the final possession.  This time they stayed with their signature man-to-man defense.  It paid off.
 
As the Knights set up their offense, they tried to feed the ball to Andre Battle in the high-post.  Freshman Jerome Staley reached in and knocked the ball away before Battle could get a grab on it.  Brandon Rembert picked up the ball and raced the other way.  He was fouled and the Pariots finished off the game at the free throw line.  They won by a final score of 85-82.
 
Although thankful for the victory, Head Coach Jon Mack is already looking ahead to playoff time, "This was a big win for us, but we need to learn to value every single possession if we are going to continue to be successful.  We have some things to work on, including our end-game execution, but we'll be ready and rested for the playoffs.  I'm looking forward to the opportunity."
 
The Patriots will be awaiting the results of the NCAA III NEAC Conference Tournament, which finish up Sunday, before they know their playoff destiny.  They finished the regular season with a record of 16-9.

Go Patriots!