Brandywine Meets York In Championship Showdown At Bryce Jordan Center
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Third-seeded Penn State Brandywine takes on top-seeded Penn State York in an all-East Division championship of the Penn State University Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Saturday at 6:45 PM inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
Brandywine is making its third appearance in the PSUAC Championship during the 53-year history of the program. The Lions captured the 2017-18 conference title on their home court following a 72-63 victory over Wilkes-Barre for the only league crown in team history. York has won four PSUAC titles with each of them coming during the last 10 years.
Brandywine and York met twice during the regular season with York claiming victories in both games. Bryce Barrouk and Colin Hockenbrock combined for 35 points in a 74-63 road setback in November, while Hockenbrock matched a career-high with 23 points and Jordan Graves added 22 points when the teams faced off in February.
On Thursday, Hockenbrock was named PSUAC Newcomer of the Year. The fourth Brandywine men's basketball player to earn the award, Hockenbrock leads the conference in blocked shots (1.5 bpg) and ranks second on the team in scoring (12.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg).
Barrouk earned a First Team All-PSUAC selection for the first time in his career. He leads the conference with 72 three-pointers, while ranking ninth in scoring (17.7) and third in rebounding (9.0). Barrouk ranks third all-time at Brandywine with 1,228 points.
Brandywine advanced to the championship by defeating Mont Alto, the No. 1 seed from the West Division, 65-56 on Wednesday night. The Lions overcame a seven-point deficit during the second half by using a 19-5 surge that was fueled by six three-pointers. Brandywine knocked off Wilkes-Barre in the quarterfinals after opening the postseason with a 81-65 home victory over Lehigh Valley.
Brandywine and York will be playing in the postseason for the fourth time on Saturday. The Lions won a conference tournament opening round game over York in 2012 and defeated York in the semifinals en route to winning the PSUAC title in 2018. York edged Brandywine 77-73 in the 2019 quarterfinals.
York is led by PSUAC Player of the Year Deriq Brown, who averages 17.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, and defender of the year Michael Coleman, who is also the team's second-leading scorer and rebounder.
A victory on Saturday night would give Brandywine the conference's automatic bid to the USCAA Tournament. The national tournament runs March 7-10 in Richmond, Va.
