CHESTERTOWN — Trailing by as many as 15 points late in the first half, Washington came all the way back to defeat visiting Delaware Valley, 64-55, Saturday in non-conference men’s basketball.
The Shoremen (5-7) halted a six-game losing streak that began in late November and continued into the first week of January.
They were led by the double-digit scoring of junior Davis Bland, who led all players with 17 points, and freshmen Nolan Waldon and Ty Woodland.
Eight players found the scoring column for the home team, including seniors Ethan Schwantes and Precieux Tshibangu, who contributed nine and eight points, respectively.
Schwantes had a game high of eight rebounds for the locals, who held a 41-24 advantage under the glass.
Washington led only once in the first half, 10-8 on a Tshibangu jumper with 12 minutes, 32 seconds remaining to finish off a run of eight unanswered points.
The Aggies (5-6) regained the lead at 11-10 on James Gordon’s traditional three-point play at the 11:11 mark.
They took their largest lead at 29-14 on a Reggie Washington jumper with 3:44 to play before intermission.
Washington closed out the half on a 14-4 run — with six points apiece from Bland and Waldon — to reduce the deficit to 33-28.
Del Valley scored the first five points of the second half to regain its double-digit lead at 38-28 on an Antonio Redding three with 17:19 remaining.
Washington answered with a string of six unanswered points, sparked by a Waldon jumper, to close to 38-34 on a Schwantes layup with 15 minutes and change to play.
The score was knotted at 40, 42 and 44, before Washington grabbed the lead at 46-44 on Tshibangu’s dunk on a fast-break with about eight and a half minutes remaining.
The home team led the rest of the way — by as few as two points on two more occasions and as many as the final count of nine after Woodland (10 points) drained two shots from the stripe with 12 seconds to play.
Washington closed the game on a 25-15 run, with Woodland dropping in seven points and Tshibangu and Bland each contributing six.
As a team, the Shoremen were 10-of-12 from the free-throw line over the final 9:30 and 14-of-18 in the second half.
Washington has surpassed last year’s win total with plenty of basketball still to be played.
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Washington opens Centennial Conference play Saturday, Jan. 11 at Ursinus. Tip-off is at 1 p.m.
In a preseason poll of conference head coaches, Washington is picked to finish last in the 10-school Centennial.
Gettysburg is the favorite, earning seven first-place votes and 78 points to land atop the rankings.
Johns Hopkins received the three other first-place votes and totaled 71 points to finish second.
Franklin & Marshall was picked third with 65 points.
Swarthmore (57), Ursinus (54) and Dickinson (38) were each projected as playoff teams in fourth through sixth place, respectively.
Muhlenberg was close behind Dickinson in seventh with 35 points, while McDaniel (24), Haverford (16) and Washington (12) rounded out the voting.
Swarthmore and Hopkins have squared off in the championship game in each of the last six seasons; both sides have won three titles apiece in that span.
The Garnet captured last year’s title in dramatic fashion, winning on JHU’s court for the second year in a row, 67-62.
Swarthmore went on to represent the conference in the NCAA Division III Tournament, advancing to the second round before being knocked out by Trinity (Conn.).
Swarthmore (29 votes), Gettysburg (19 votes) and Hopkins (4 votes) received votes just outside the top 25 in the D3hoops.com preseason national rankings.