Phoenixville, PA – Five Patriots were in double-digit scoring in the win over the Nittany Lions of Penn State Lehigh Valley at home on Thursday night. In the win, Valley Forge tied the all-time school record of most points in a game. Sophomore Bennie Howard Jr. led the Patriots with a career-high 23 points and 3 steals.

"First of all, I want to thank our fans for the awesome environment," head coach DJ Damazo added. "I have been in dozens of gyms over the last 10 years as both a player and a coach, and I have not seen a better environment than what we had last night. Additionally, when we play our pace, we are difficult to guard. I thought Lehigh Valley made some good adjustments to try to slow us down in the second-half, but credit to our guys for responding well each time they made a run. We still have time to clean many things, but I'm pleased with where we're at with such a young group at this point in the season."

Sophomore Aaron Hill followed Howard as he notched an additional 21 points. With consistent impressive performances, Hill is currently second in NCAA Division III for total points thus far, collecting 85 points in just three games. Freshman Matthew Altamirano also secured a career-high of 17 points, going 8-15 from the field. Derian Bradford finished with 15 points, earning his own career-high after only scoring four lone points in the previous game. Owen Bradford collected 13 points in the win, his second game straight scoring double digits.

With a 'White Out' themed game, the atmosphere was electric, which allowed the Patriots to feed off of the crowd's energy. However, the Lions were able to secure a quick 4-0 lead from a pair of fast-break layups. The Patriots were put on the board by a layup from Derian Bradford, igniting an offensive spark which was followed by a jumper from freshman Joshua Hosey, and a three ball from Mauro Fernandez.

As ten minutes remained in the first-half, Valley Forge held a 10-point lead that would quickly increase with a jumper from Hosey and six back-to-back trey balls from Aaron Hill, Bennie Howard Jr., Drew Grow, and Owen Bradford. The Patriots were able to hold a 17-point benefit as they entered halftime.

Down 43-60, the Lions were able to slow down the stride of the Patriots, slowly cutting down the point deficit with a couple fast break points in the paint. Lehigh Valley would cut the Patriots lead to only 7 at 8:08, but the Patriots would hold on with a few clutch made free-throws.

Up 10 points, Derian Bradford would fuel a run with a pair of defensive rebounds and two assists for Aaron Hill and Owen Bradford who both drained a basket from three-point land with just two minutes remaining in the game. With a hot offense, Valley Forge would claim the win with a 113-94 final score; the second consecutive game that the Patriots hit 100+ points.  

The Patriots will welcome head coach DJ Damazo's alma mater, Geneva College to Phoenixville on Saturday, November 16^th for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff.