Brandywine Bests Mont Alto In Overtime

MONT ALTO, Pa. -- Isaiah Lester (Morton, Pa./Ridley) sent the game to overtime by sinking a three-pointer with seven seconds to play and Penn State Brandywine held Penn State Mont Alto to just three points during the extra session en route to an 81-75 victory on Tuesday night.

The Lions trailed by as many as nine points during the first half before reeling off the final eight points to build a 38-36 halftime edge. The final four points came at the charity stripe via Marcus Turner (Claymont, Del./Chichester) free throws.

Mont Alto netted the first five points of the second half, but Brandywine answered as Edward Sanchez (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) poured in six-straight points and Isaiah Wilmore (Philadelphia, Pa./Ben Franklin) knocked down a three-pointer to make the score 47-41.

Brandywine stayed in front for much of the remainder of the halftime, taking a 69-65 lead on Turner's triple at the 2:35 mark; however, the Lions would go cold until the final seconds.

Mont Alto forced three consecutive Brandywine turnovers and used a 7-0 spurt to take a 72-69 advantage with 26 seconds to play.

Lester sent the game to overtime as he buried a triple off a feed from Turner with seven ticks on the clock. A final attempt by Mont Alto did not go, pushing the game to an extra five minutes.

The additional session was low scoring over the first 3 1/2 minutes as the teams exchanged three points each. Cyrie Spencer (Sharon Hill, Pa./Academy Park) connected on a triple for the Lions, but Jerome Evans answered with a three-point play at the 3:48 mark.

Mont Alto would come up empty during its final six possessions and Brandywine took the lead for good with 1:31 to play after Wilmore was fouled and sank both free throws. A layup by Spencer and two more Wilmore free throws helped ice the game for the Lions.

Brandywine, playing short-handed with just eight healthy players, saw five scorers reach double figures. Sanchez poured in 16 points and handed out seven assists, while Wilmore and Turner each netted 14 points. Spencer added 12 and Shafi Mohammad (Philadelphia, Pa./Hawbridge School (N.C.)) was final Lion in double figures with 10 points.

Spencer and Wilmore both produced five steals, while Spencer topped the team with seven rebounds.

Brandywine shot 37 percent from the field and drained 11 three-pointers. Mont Alto made 48 percent of its shots from the floor, but committed 25 turnovers, compared to just 10 for Brandywine.

The Lions (5-16, 4-8 PSUAC) look for a second consecutive victory on Friday night at Penn State Hazleton.