Men’s Basketball Season Opens Saturday At Alvernia

MEDIA, Pa. -- The Penn State Brandywine men's basketball team begins its 2015-16 season Saturday with a host of new faces on the roster during Head Coach Omar Richburg's second season when it visits Alvernia for a 7:00 pm tip-off.

Brandywine will feature 13 newcomers to the squad, including 11 freshmen, while returning just three players from last year's team that did not win a game in the PSUAC.

Eight of the Lions' losses last season came by six points or less, seven of which were during Brandywine's final 14 games. Brandywine will rely heavily on one of the nation's youngest rosters to make its move back toward the top of the PSUAC.

Brandwine's returning players include sophomore forward Cyrie Spencer and junior guards Kenneth Murphy and Marcus Turner.

Spencer is the Lions' top returning scorer and rebounder after averaging nearly a double-double as a rookie at 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He produced seven double-doubles and poured in over 20 points five times in 24 games.

Turner, Brandywine's most experienced player with 46 games played in his career, finished last year as the team's fourth-leading scorer at 8.7 points per game. After joining Brandywine midway through the season, Murphy appeared in 10 games, producing 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per outing.

Brandywine, which begins the year with five of its first six games on the road, will face Alvernia on Saturday and travel to Delaware Valley Tuesday before playing the first of its 11 home games on Nov. 19 against Williamson Trade.