Front Royal, VA – The University of Valley Forge Men's Basketball team cruised by the Crusaders of Christendom College in their last regular season contest. With six Patriots in double-digits, Valley Forge left Crusader Gym with an 84-70 victory.

Valley Forge was led by Aaron Hill who was 1 rebound shy of a double-double with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Derian Bradford, Owen Bradford, Bennie Howard Jr., and Jeremy Eng combined for 44 points as they each tallied 11 points. With 11 points in the book, Eng earned a career-high. Rafael Smith notched an additional 10 points, his fourth double-digit contest of the season.

"It was a great team win in a hostile environment," head coach DJ Damazo added. "We did a great job of jumping on them early and honestly played well throughout, but they made a great run in the second half. I am very proud of the way we sustained our lead and kept our composure. All 5 guys scored in double figures and a number of others stepped up."

The Patriots gathered a quick 10-0 lead at the tip. Valley Forge secured a 15-point lead after a layup from Derian Bradford with 10:47 remaining. Christendom rallied 9-3 run to be within 9 points, but Valley Forge outscored the Crusaders 40-23 in the first stanza.

Derian Bradford stretched the lead to 19 points after a jumper to start the second-half. Trailing 24-25, Christendom earned an 8-0 run powered by three ball and a Crusader dunk. The Crusaders held the momentum, cutting the Patriots lead to a short 6 points. Valley Forge wrapped up the game at the charity stripe, sinking 8-14 with less than five minutes remaining to claim the win.  

Valley Forge shot 29-71 from the field (40.8%), 9-34 from behind the arc (26.5%), and 17-24 from the line (70.8%).

Valley Forge will take this week to prepare for post-season play. The Patriots are set to face the Broncos of SUNY-Delhi in the semifinals on Saturday, February 29^th at 4 p.m.