Brandywine Basketball Tips Off Season At Home Tuesday

MEDIA, Pa. -- The Penn State Brandywine basketball teams will open their 2016-17 seasons on Tuesday night with a pair of home games. The women's team faces NCAA Division II Mansfield at 5:30 pm, while men's game against the Mounties will follow at 7:30 pm.

The Brandywine women, entering their 11th season under the direction of Head Coach Larry Johnson, will look to building around a young nucleus following the graduation of four seniors. The Lions have advanced to the PSUAC Tournament semifinals 10 consecutive years and have posted at least 18 wins in four consecutive and eight of the last 10 seasons.

Chelsea Dent (Yeadon, Pa./Penn Wood) is the Lions' most experienced player and the lone senior on the roster. Brandywine's top returning scorer, Dent averaged 6.5 points per game, along with 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per outing last season.

Junior Alyssa Abbonizio (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) is the only additional returner to have started a game in 2015-16. She recorded 4.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in 27 games, while classmate Chrissy Gledhill (Secane, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) returns as one of the team's top shooting threats.

Forwards Brandi James (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) and Nicolette Napoleon (Springfield, Pa./Penn Charter) will look to step into more prominent roles as sophomores. Both played in all 27 games for the Lions last season. The team's returners will be joined by a group of five freshmen.

The men's squad also features just one senior in Marcus Turner (Claymont, Del./Chichester). He started all 25 games in 2015-16, averaging 8.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, and has appeared in 71 games for the Lions over the last three years.

The team returns its three leading scorers from last year, which posted a seven-win improvement compared to the 2014-15 squad under Head Coach Omar Richburg.

Junior Cyrie Spencer (Sharon Hill, Pa./Academy Park) topped the team in scoring at 12.7 points per game and was also Lions' leading rebounder (6.9 rpg), while sophomore Naifes Smalls (Philadelphia, Pa./PE&T Charter) looks to improve on a solid rookie campaign when he recorded 8.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Also returning to the team is junior James Fisher (Philadelphia, Pa./Upper Darby), who was a prolific scoring threat during his first two seasons before taking last year away from the team. He averaged 18.7 points as a sophomore and has scored over 600 points during his career.

Brandywine's roster of 14 features seven returners and seven newcomers. A group of six freshmen will be welcomed to the squad, along with junior transfer Edward Sanchez (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury), who played his first two seasons at Penn State Lehigh Valley.

Fans can follow the basketball teams through live stats and video all season at www.psubrandywineathletics.com and on social media:

Facebook: PSUBrandywineAthletics

Instagram: @PSUBWsports

Twitter: @PSUBWsports