FORT VALLEY, Ga. – Fort Valley State University Men's Basketball (1-0) opened the 2025–26 season in dramatic fashion, knocking down a buzzer-beater to secure a 76-74 win over Rollins College (0-1).
Head coach Brandon Birtt earned his first victory at the helm of the Wildcats, which also marked his first home win with the program.
The Tars struck first with a field goal, but the Wildcats responded with five straight points, sparked by a
Danny Delgardo III three-pointer to take an early 5–1 lead. FVSU continued to control the pace, building a 10-point advantage at 20–10. Rollins, however, made the final minutes of the half interesting, eventually taking a 21–20 lead near the seven-minute mark. The teams traded the advantage before Rollins carried a 40–37 lead into halftime.
Aidan Lambert opened the second half with a layup to cut the deficit to one, and Delgardo III knocked down another three to tie the game at 46–46 with just under 17:30 to play. The teams went back and forth from there, with Rollins' largest second-half lead reaching six at 64–58. FVSU regained its first lead of the half when
C.J. Williams threw down a dunk to make it 66–64. The margin continued to swing by a single point until the Tars pulled ahead 74–73 with 37 seconds remaining. With three seconds left, Delgardo III buried a three-pointer to lift the Wildcats to the 76–74 victory.
Delgardo III led all scorers with 27 points, shooting nearly 45% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc, while adding a 5-for-7 effort at the free-throw line. Lambert turned in a strong offensive performance as well, finishing with 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-4 from deep, and a perfect mark at the foul line.
Meka Nnaji rounded out the top scorers with 10 points on five made field goals.
Sincere Whitehead and Lambert paced the Wildcats on the glass with six rebounds each. Whitehead grabbed four defensive boards, while all six of Lambert's came on the defensive end. Nnaji added four rebounds, including three defensively.
The Wildcats return to action Monday, Nov. 17, when they open conference play on the road at Central State University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
