Warriors take holiday tourney

WESTFALL - The Delaware Valley boys’ basketball team beat Vernon Township, N.J. on Saturday to claim the championship at the 30th annual Rotary Stephen E. Faller Holiday Basketball Tournament. DelVal’s Ryan Murphy took home the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award, an honor, as he jokingly pointed out, his coach Kris Holtzer never received. Holzer, a Delaware Valley graduate, still holds the varsity basketball scoring record. The championship game outcome remained in doubt until midway through the fourth quarter when Delaware Valley, led by Murphy with 30 points, pulled ahead. Fourth quarter action yielded 29 points from the Warriors, more than they scored in the entire first half. The Vikings had the lead at the end of the first, and trailed the Warriors by a single point by the beginning of the fourth. The game ended with the Warriors on top 69-50. Senior Pat Smith attributed the win to the team’s defense and rebounding. The first game of the new year will be played at home on Jan. 5 against Honesdale High School.