Lions Edged By New Kensington 95-93

MEDIA, Pa. -- Despite drilling 11 three-pointers, the Penn State Brandywine men's basketball team dropped a 95-93 decision to Penn State New Kensington on Saturday afternoon.

Brandywine ran out to a 20-4 lead through four minutes behind Edward Sanchez (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) and Isaiah Wilmore (Philadelphia, Pa./Ben Franklin), who combined for 18 of those points. Wilmore scored the final eight of the Lions' opening run, including back-to-back three-pointers to give the hosts a 16-point edge.

New Kensington steadily climbed back into the game, closing within 10 on a pair of Alex Bell free throws, before using a 20-3 surge spanning nearly six minutes to vault into the lead. Brandywine trailed by as many as nine points, but Cyrie Spencer (Sharon Hill, Pa./Academy Park) and Marcus Turner (Claymont, Del./Chichester) sank two-straight layups and Turner buried a triple as the halftime buzzer sounded to make the score 48-44 in favor of New Kensington at the break.

Brandywine netted the first four points of the second half to knot the score at 48-48, but New Kensington again ran away from the Lions, building a 17-point lead by the stanza's midway point.

Brandywine fought back using an 11-2 spurt, capped by Shaun Norwood's (Media, Pa./Penncrest) triple, to pull within seven at the 6:04 mark. Over four minutes later, Sanchez and Wilmore sank consecutive jumpers as Brandywine closed within two at 88-86.

The Lions trailed by four with under 10 seconds to play, but Sanchez grabbed a offensive rebound and drilled a long, off-balance triple to make it a one-point game.

After the teams traded free throws, Brandywine was again forced to foul. Juwan Willis made one-of-two shots from the charity stripe, giving Brandywine an opportunity to tie or win at the buzzer, but the Lions committed a turnover during their final possession as New Kensington held on.

Sanchez, Turner and Wilmore all buried three triples for the Lions, who shot 43 percent from the field. Wilmore and Sanchez each poured in 21 points, while Turner finished with 17. Spencer recorded 11 points and 10 rebounds and Wilmore pulled down eight boards, while also blocking three shots and handing out four assists.

Kenneth Rouse scored 24 points off the bench to lead New Kensington.

Brandywine (4-16, 3-8 PSUAC) plays its next three games on the road beginning with a trip to Penn State Mont Alto on Tuesday at 8:00 pm.