Josh Smith
Josh Smith

Lions Edge Williamson; Enter Break With Third-Straight Victory

MEDIA, Pa. -- The Penn State Brandywine men's basketball team finished the first semester of competition on a high note, topping Williamson College of the Trades 74-68 for its third consecutive victory on Wednesday night.

Brandywine, which went 3-1 on its four-game road trip to up its record to 6-4 overall, received a team-high 20 points from Andrew Persaud (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion), while Dwayne Coleman (Philadelphia, Pa./Delaware Valley Charter) produced a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, his fourth of the year, along with five steals and a pair of blocked shots.

Anthony Lattanzi (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) just missed a double-double, collecting nine points and 10 rebounds and Jacob Hunt (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) added 13 points and four assists. Josh Smith (Glassboro, N.J./Glassboro) chipped in nine points, three steals and three assists.

Smith netted Brandywine's first eight points of the night as the Lions ran out to an early six-point edge. Hunt sank a free throw at the 13:28 mark that upped the lead to 16-7, but Williamson countered with the game's next 11 points to vault in front.

Williamson maintained its advantage until a layup and two free throws from Lattanzi and a Persaud triple pushed the Lions back into the lead at 33-32. Persaud and Coleman both contributed a pair of buckets to a 12-2 Brandywine surge during the final 2:50 of the first half, upping the lead to 45-34 at the break.

Brandywine maintained its double-figure advantage for a large portion of the second period, pushing the margin as large as 15 points when Persaud knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the game with 12:09 to go, but Williamson made a late charge by holding the Lions to just 10 points during the final 12 minutes.

With Brandywine leading 71-58 and 2:10 remaining on the clock, Williamson made its final push, reeling off seven-straight points in 1:03 to get within six; however, Hunt connected on three free throws during the final 41 seconds and the Mechanics came up empty on two of their final three possessions as Brandywine held on for the win.

Brandywine, which shot 30 percent from the field, was aided by 23 Williamson turnovers and 22-of-30 shooting from the free throw stripe. Of Brandywine's 21 made field goals, 10 came from beyond the arc.

After a three-week layoff, Brandywine returns to its home floor for its final non-conference game of the year, a January 8th matchup with the University of Valley Forge at 7:00 pm.