Lions Fall At York In PSUAC Quarterfinals 77-73

YORK, Pa. -- No. 3 Penn State Brandywine suffered its third nailbiting defeat at the hands of No. 2 Penn State York this winter as the Lions saw their season come to an end following a 77-73 Penn State University Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament quarterfinal defeat on Tuesday night.

Brandywine, which was also dealt a one-point road loss at York eight days ago, closed the season with a record of 14-12. The Lions reached the postseason for the second-straight year, a feat that had not been accomplished since 2012-13.

Jacob Hunt (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) scored 16 of his game-high 29 points during the first half and Bryce Barrouk (Glen Mills, Pa./Rustin) beat the buzzer with a three-pointer as the Lions entered halftime with a 38-35 edge.

Brandywine saw its lead reach five points three times during the first six minutes of the second half, but York rallied to knot the count at 48-48 on Anthony Bennett's triple, the first of  five tied scores during the final 20 minutes.

York moved its lead to five points; however, two Hunt free throws and a three-pointer from Josh Smith (Glassboro, N.J./Glassboro) quickly evened the teams 56-56 with 9:34 to go.

Brandywine and York swapped the lead during the next four minutes before two-straight buckets by Justin Luton pushed the margin to five points at the 4:21 mark. York's edge reached six points with under one minute to go, but Brandywine continued to battle, getting within four on Hunt's jumper with 32 seconds on the clock.

After Derrick Hoffman sank one-of-two free throws for the hosts, Smith buried a triple to make the count 75-73. Nine ticks remained on the clock when Hoffman stepped to the line for two more free throws and this time, he sank both, making it a two possession game. Brandywine's final heave was off the mark as York held held on to advance to the semifinals.

Hunt shot 8-of-17 from the field and 10-of-14 at the charity stripe, while Smith posted 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Pat Gallagher (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) posted 12 points and Anthony Lattanzi (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) hauled in 11 boards to pace the team on the glass.

Evenly matched throughout, both teams shot 24-of-61 from the field, but the difference was at the free throw line, where York knocked down 22-of-26 shots and Brandywine sank 17-of-23 attempts. The game featured 13 ties and 17 lead changes.