Brandywine Moves On To Quarterfinals With 81-65 Triumph

MEDIA, Pa. -- Third-seeded Penn State Brandywine knocked down 12 three-pointers and defeated No. 6 Penn State Lehigh Valley by a score of 81-65 Saturday night during the opening round of the Penn State University Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.

Vince Zulli (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) buried seven triples, one shy of tying a single-game record, as he poured in a career-best 23 points, while Bryce Barrouk (Glen Mills, Pa./Rustin) added a trio of three-pointers and scored 15 points. Jordan Graves (Media, Pa./Strath Haven) knocked down two triples and added 10 points.

Brandywine ran out to a 10-0 lead during the game's first four minutes, but Lehigh Valley trimmed its deficit to just two by the 5:11 mark.

A layup from Colin Hockenbrock (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth), quickly followed by a Zulli triple, jumpstarted a 16-0 Brandywine surge that spanned the next three minutes. Zulli and Barrouk canned back-to-back triples that capped the run, upping the Brandywine lead to 44-26 just before the half.

After leading 46-29 at the break, Brandywine extended the margin to 20 points for the first time when Barrouk knocked down a three-pointer with 13:43 to go; however, Lehigh Valley steadily cut into the Brandywine lead, moving within 11 on two occasions during the next eight minutes.

Zulli put an end to any comeback hopes for the visitors as he buried his seventh triple with 3:38 left on the clock, making the score 75-60, and Brandywine would not let Lehigh Valley get closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

Hockenbrock accounted for 19 points on 9-for-15 shooting, while Barrouk grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds. Hockenbrock added seven boards, while Graves handed out five assists.

Brandywine, which earned its first postseason victory since 2018, shot 41 percent from the field and forced 19 Lehigh Valley turnovers.

Brandywine (14-17) will visit No. 2 Penn State Wilkes-Barre Monday night in a PSUAC Tournament quarterfinal matchup at 7:00 PM.