ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Sophomore guard
Ryan Kelley scored a career-high 26 points, but it was not enough as the Arcadia University men's basketball team dropped an 81-75 non-conference decision at DeSales University Wednesday. The Bulldogs improved to 9-4 with the win, while the Knights fell to 6-7 with the loss.
Arcadia used a 9-0 run that featured seven points from Kelley to take a 37-30 lead with 2:06 left in the first half, but DeSales countered with an 8-2 surge to cut the Knights' lead to one at the break, 39-38. Kelley scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the opening frame.
Arcadia was up by five after senior forward
Joe Brown knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 60-55 eight and a half minutes in to the second half before the Bulldogs used a 10-1 run to regain the lead for good. DeSales tied the game at 61 on a layup from sophomore guard Brian Laird with 8:41 to go in the second half and junior forward Cody Deal capped the burst with two made free throws just over a minute later.
The Bulldogs were up four, 77-73 after sophomore guard Kuity Slanger's layup with 55 seconds to go, but the Knights were able to make it a one-possession game on the ensuing possession on two made free throws from freshman guard
Sean Mayberry. Arcadia was unable to get a stop at the other end as _ Travis Bryan made a layup with 19 seconds to go. Brown's three back down the floor was off the mark and Slanger controlled the rebound for DeSales, and he then made both free throws after being fouled with 12 seconds to go to cap the scoring in the game.
Brown finished the game with 18 points and six rebounds for the Knights, while Mayberry finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Laird totaled 20 points on 7 of 14 shooting from the field with four threes to lead the Bulldogs, while Bryan netted 16 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the floor while making each of his six free throw attempts. Freshman guard Aaron Burton and Slanger added 12 points each.
DeSales shot 57 percent (29-51) from the field and 90 percent (18-20) from the line, while Arcadia shot 41 percent (26-63) from the floor and 71 percent (17-24) from the line. The Bulldogs dominated inside, outscoring the Knights 48-28 in the paint, while Arcadia held a decided 33-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Knights will try and snap their three-game slide Saturday when they host a 1 p.m. Commonwealth Conference contest against Lycoming College at Alumni Gymnasium.
