Brandywine Stops Schuylkill; Evens PSUAC Record At 5-5

MEDIA, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine fended off Penn State Schuylkill, winning its fifth-straight Penn State University Athletic Conference men's basketball game, by a score of 88-83 on Saturday afternoon.

The teams were evenly matched through five minutes before a quick 11-2 spurt gave Brandywine a 16-10 edge.

Brandywine's lead reached double figures for the first time at the 8:35 mark when Vince Zulli (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) buried a three-pointer. The Lions lead later reached 13 points before settling for a 10-point margin at the break as Bryce Barrouk (Glen Mills, Pa./Rustin) sank a layup just before the buzzer sounded.

Schuylkill mounted a second-half rally, climbing within one when Wilvens Fleurizard buried a triple with 11:45 to play. The Lions had an answer as Barrouk countered with a triple and Zulli followed with a three-pointer plus two free throws.

The visitors twice brought their deficit to two points, but Brandywine continued to have a response to each. First Jamar Wright (Wilmington, Del./Conrad School of Science) sank a reverse layup, while Colin Hockenbrock (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) knocked down a pair of free throws.

Brandywine's lead reached seven points when Barrouk canned a triple with 1:45 to go; however, Schuylkill would not go away easily. The visitors made a layup, produced a steal, and drained a triple in a span of six seconds to climb back within two with 34 seconds on the clock.

Brandywine iced the game at the free throw line, sinking five free throws during the final 20 seconds, to extend its conference win streak to five games, the longest since the 2017-18 season.

The Lions placed four players in the double-figure scoring column, paced by Hockenbrock's 21-point effort. Barrouk added 18 points and 11 boards, while Johnta Dunson (Philadelphia, Pa./Freire Charter) poured in 17 points and handed out five assists. Zulli notched 11 points after knocking down all three of his three-point attempts and Jordan Graves (Media, Pa./Strath Haven) chipped in nine points, including four free throws during the final minute of the game.

Brandywine shot 46 percent from the field and trekked to the free throw line 29 times, sinking 22, while Schuylkill made just 7-of-11 free throw shots.

Brandywine (7-12, 5-5 PSUAC) continues its five-game homestand on Tuesday against Penn State Lehigh Valley at 8:00 PM.