Delaware State led by just two points at halftime, but pulled away in the second half to an 86-70 win over Division II Cheyney in men’s basketball at Memorial Hall on Monday evening.

Sophomore forward Artem Tavakalyan came off the bench to lead four Hornets in double figures with career-highs of 19 points and nine rebounds.

Tavakalyan was 8-for-15 from the field. He also contributed three assists and two steals for DSU (4-18).

Devin Morgan added 12 points and a game-high six assists, while DeVaughn Mallory (Polytech) and Todd Hughes tallied 11 points each for DSU. Hughes also had a career-high five blocks in the game.

DSU opened up 13-point leads on three occasions in the first half, the last time after a three-pointer by Aric Dickerson (nine points) to pull ahead 38-25 with 3:56 to go before halftime. But Cheyney (2-16) outscored the Hornets 17-4 during the remainder of the half to pull to within 44-42 at intermission.

The Hornets were ahead just 60-52 after seven minutes of the second half before pulling away over the next eight minutes.

Morgan capped off a 23-7 run with a steal and layup to give DSU an 82-59 lead with 5:25 left to play. The Hornet defense forced Cheyney into 1-of-8 shooting from the field and three turnovers, while Morgan had seven points and Tavakalyan four during the DSU rally.

DSU had a season-high 21 assists in the game.

Southern Virginia 74, Wesley 62: The Wolverines erased an eight-point halftime deficit but couldn’t complete the comeback.

George Cook drilled a three with 4:59 remaining to keep Wesley within four points, but that was as close as the Wolverines would come. The Knights finished the game on a 13-5 run, including nine free throws, to seal the victory.

J.W. Lawson led Wesley (4-8 CAC, 6-13) with 20 points off the bench while all five Wesley starters were kept from reaching double-digit scoring.

Southern Virginia went 29-of-38 from the foul line while the Wolverines were 16-for-22.

WOMEN, Wesley 74, Southern Virginia 70: The Wolverines (4-8, 5-14) held off the Knights to snap a three-game losing streak.

Brionna Johnson (Smyrna) registered her first double-double since Jan. 13, pulling down 11 rebounds to go with 20 points. Alexus Stroud (Smyrna) led all scorers with a career-high 21 points and Tiara White chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds as the Wolverines earned their first road CAC win of the year.

With 3:24 remaining, Stroud hit a three-pointer to give Wesley a 65-64 lead. On the Knights' next posession Monshea Newsome-Murray (Seaford) swiped an SVU pass and took it down for a layup to give the Wolverines some breathing room.

SVU tied the game at the 2:08 mark with a three, but Tiyanna Gibbs sank the go-ahead basket with 1:50 left to make it 71-69. The Wolverines then held the Knights scoreless for the final 90 seconds.

DSU’s Pollard honored again: Delaware State freshman NaJai Pollard garnered her seventh Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week Award in women’s basketball.

She totalled 49 points, 25 rebounds, eight assists, five blocks and two steals over a three-game stretch, highlighted by a career-best performance of 23 points (11-of-15 shooting), 15 rebounds and four assists in DSU’s 66-56 win over North Carolina Central.

Pollard leads the Hornets in rebounding (7.4 rpg), total blocks (28) and double-doubles (4), while sitting third in scoring (11.1 ppg) and fourth in steals (20).

Boys’ basketball

Lake Forest 67, Col. Richardson 56: Camerson Lewis scored 26 points and Dominique Griffith had 21 as the Spartans won their fourth game in a row.

At 7-6, Lake Forest has the most victories for the program since 2012. It’s also the Spartans’ first four-game winning streak since the start of the 2009-10 season.

Kobe Mumford added 12 points for Lake Forest, which held a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

Laurel 62, Delmarva Christian 44: Eric Pilot tallied 15 points to pace the Bulldogs to the nonconference win.

Laurel, which also got 10 points from Brandon Faulk, built a 50-31 lead after three quarters.

Micah Magee (14 points) and Joshua Vonhof (13) led the Royals.

Girls’ basketball

Indian River 57, Seaford 13: Kealey Allison scored a career-high 17 points with seven steals as the Indians picked up a Henlopen South victory.

Trayona Nock also scored a career high with 14 points while Maggie Ford had 12.

Sussex Tech 56, Salisbury Christian 16: Kara Hignutt netted nine points to lead the Ravens to the win.

Nine Sussex Tech players scored in the contest.

Delmarva Christian 48, Laurel 35: Camryn Breasure and Ashlee McCoy netted 14 points apiece to pace the Royals to the win.

Logan Handy tallied a game-high 25 points for the Bulldogs.