Lehigh Valley Edges Brandywine 76-73

MEDIA, Pa. -- Arnel Lewis connected on a three-pointer with 33 seconds remaining to break a 73-73 tie as the Penn State Brandywine men's basketball team dropped a 76-73 decision to Penn State Lehigh Valley on Saturday afternoon.

Brandywine had three possessions during the final 30 seconds, but the Lions missed a pair of three-pointers and turned the ball over once during their attempt to tie the score.

Brandywine had rallied from six points down with 3:53 to go, tying the score following Jamar Wright's (Wilmington, Del./Conrad School of Science) layup 3:02 later. Down six, the Lions scored on five of their next six possessions, including four points each from Wright and Jaden Kelly (Philadelphia, Pa./GAMP).

The difference in the game came on the boards and at the free throw line as Lehigh Valley held a 54-29 edge on the glass and knocked down 29-of-40 free throw attempts. Brandywine was 15-for-23 at the charity stripe.

Lehigh Valley held its biggest edge of the afternoon at 35-26 late in the first half, but Joey Brusha (Abington, Pa./Abington) buried a triple and canned two free throws during the final 52 seconds to bring the Lions within 37-31 at the half.

The visitors maintained their six-point edge through seven minutes of the second period before A.J. Dreger (Newtown Square, Pa./Bonner-Prendie) drilled a three-pointer and added a free throw to cut the deficit to two. After a Lehigh Valley turnover, Dillon Jones (Wilmington, Del./Hodgson Vo-Tech) converted a three-point play to give the Lions their first lead of the second half at 53-52.

The teams swapped the lead five times during the next six minutes before five-straight Lehigh Valley points extended its lead to 69-63.

Colin Hockenbrock (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) started the Lions' late charge with a layup and Kelly followed by canning a jumper and adding two free throws. Wright sank a pair from the free throw line before tying the score with a layup with 53 seconds to play.

Lewis recorded the final three of his 22 points, knocking down just the third triple of the game on 16 attempts for the visitors.

Brusha buried five triples and netted a team-high 19 points, while Hockenbrock added 14 points, five rebounds, five steals, four blocked shots and four assists. Dreger contributed 12 points.

Brandywine (7-13, 7-8 PSUAC) is back in action Tuesday night at Penn State Schuylkill (8:00 PM).