Brandywine Claims Third-Straight PSUAC Victory, 82-63, Over Scranton

MEDIA, Pa. -- The Penn State Brandywine men's basketball team overcame a 17-point first-half deficit and pulled away late as the Lions captured their third consecutive Penn State University Athletic Conference triumph, defeating Penn State Scranton 82-63 on Thursday night.

Hot-shooting Scranton owned a 26-9 lead just 7:09 into the game, but its lead evaporated by halftime as Brandywine vaulted in front 42-35 after 20 minutes of play.

After trimming its deficit to 15 points, Brandywine embarked on a 25-3 surge spanning nearly nine minutes. Johnta Dunson (Philadelphia, Pa./Freire Charter) netted the first four points, while Jordan Graves (Media, Pa./Strath Haven) knocked down two three-pointers and added a layup in a span of 1:13 to bring the Lions with five at 32-27.

Graves' triple with 2:32 to go knotted the score at 32-32 and 27 seconds later, a layup from Colin Hockenbrock (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) put the Lions on top. Vince Zulli (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) added a three-pointer, while Dunson's buzzer-beating putback sent the Lions into the locker room with a 42-35 edge.

The visitors made an early charge in the second half, briefly taking the lead at 48-47, but a basket by Hockenbrock began a run of nine-straight Brandywine points that put the Lions in front 56-48.

Scranton trimmed the deficit as narrow as six points with 8:07 to go; however, a jumper from Dunson, two Zulli free throws and back-to-back triples from Devon Jones (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) and Bryce Barrouk (Glen Mills, Pa./Rustin) helped Brandywine pull away late with a 10-0 spurt.

Brandywine knocked down 13 of its 24 three-point attempts as Barrouk connected for four and Graves, Jones and Zulli each added two. The Lions shot 49 percent from the field overall, while limiting Scranton to 38 percent shooting.

Barrouk paced the scoring effort with 22 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Dunson tacked on 17 points, dished out five assists and collected four steals, while Hockenbrock added 12 points and Graves chipped in 10, along with five assists.

Brandywine (5-12, 3-5 PSUAC) will look for a fourth-straight PSUAC win Sunday at Penn State Fayette at 5:00 PM.