PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. – The Neumann University Men's Basketball team took down the University of Valley Forge on Tuesday night by an 84-70 score on Tuesday night. With the win, the Knights close their season-opening road trip, winning four of five.
 
The opening tip was won by Valley Forge, and they would go on a 7-2 run start the first two minutes. Neumann pulled back within one, but the Patriots responded by taking eight of the next ten for a seven-point lead. Valley Forge kept Neumann at arm's length over the next few minutes with the Patriots leading 21-14 after ten minutes of play. With an eight-point deficit, two minutes later, Neumann scored the next 10 points, finished by a Gary Francis fast break layup, to give them a 30-28 lead.  Although the Patriots tied the game up, the Knights went on a 10-4 run over the last five minutes of the half to take a 40-34 lead into the break.
 
Neumann came out of the locker room for the second half with a ton of energy as they went on a 13-2 run over the first 5:10, closed by a Mike Smith, III three-pointer, giving them a 53-36 lead. The Knights continued to forge ahead with a 7-3 run over the next 90 seconds, extending the lead to 21, forcing a Valley Forge timeout. The Patriots gained some ground, pulling within 15 with 10 minutes left but Neumann answered right back with a 12-4 stretch for a 74-51 lead with 7:09 left. Another strong push from Valley Forge had them pull within 12 with less than a minute left but they ran out of time.
 
Francis came off the bench to lead Neumann with 22 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. He hit 10 of 12 field goals for an 83.3% shooting percentage. Bryan Etienne finished with a double-double, picking up 19 points and 11 rebounds, along with five assists. TJ Lewis had 20 points while Jarell Keel led on the boards with 15 rebounds.
 
Neumann (4-1) will finally have their first home game on Wednesday night when they host their cross-county rivals, the Widener University Pride for a 7:00 PM tip-off.