Hazleton Slips Past Brandywine 76-73

HAZLETON, Pennsylvania -- Penn State Brandywine held the lead with under one minute to play, but Penn State Hazleton scored the final four points and escaped with a 76-73 PSUAC men's basketball victory on Saturday afternoon.

Amir Davis (Philadelphia, Pa./Walter Palmer Charter) poured in a career-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds, while James Fisher (Philadelphia, Pa./Upper Darby) made four three-pointers, registering 21 points, along with six boards.

Brandywine trailed by eight with 3:57 left in regulation, but rallied to take a late lead. Davis sank a layup and Marcus Turner (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) followed with a basket to get the comeback started.

Davis brought Brandywine within one by draining a bucket with 1:09 to play and, after a steal by Cyrie Spencer (Sharon Hill, Pa./Academy Park), Turner made a fast-break lay in to give Brandywine a 73-72 edge.

Jordan Singletary was fouled with 30 seconds left and drained a pair of free throws that helped Hazleton retake the lead. After a Brandywine turnover, Chris Woodring connected on two free throws to extend the Hazleton lead to three points.

The Lions were unable to tie the game during their final possession and Hazleton held on for the narrow victory.

Brandywine trailed by 12 points just five minutes into the game, but stormed back to knot the score at 20-20 following a triple by Fisher.

Hazleton pushed its lead back to 11, but the Lions closed the first half with an 11-2 run to pull within one.

Neither team led by more than three until Hazleton used a 12-3 spurt to build an eight-point lead midway through the second half.

Brandywine shot nearly 40 percent from the field, but allowed 50 percent shooting from Hazleton. The Lions held a 47-32 edge on the glass, aided by a game-high 11 boards from Spencer.

Jacob Solano netted 28 points during 39 minutes of action for Hazleton.

Brandywine plays its final home game of the season on Sunday. Tip-off versus Penn State Scranton is slated for 3:00 pm.