Lions Stop Wilkes Barre; End Skid With 76-74 Victory

MEDIA, Pa. -- Edward Sanchez (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury) scored a season-high 19 points and Cyrie Spencer (Sharon Hill, Pa./Academy Park) added 17 points as the Penn State Brandywine men's basketball team halted its losing skid by topping Penn State Wilkes Barre 76-74 on Monday night.

Sanchez caught fire during the first half, hitting on 5-of-6 field goal attempts for 11 points as Brandywine ran out to an eight-point halftime edge. Sanchez buried three consecutive jumpers during a 10-3 Brandywine run that gave the Lions a seven-point edge 14 minutes into the game.

A three-pointer from Spencer extended the lead to 10 points three minutes later and the Lions sank six free throws during the final 3:29 of the half to maintain a 36-28 edge.

Another Spencer three ball gave the Lions their largest lead at 11 points early in the second half, but Wilkes Barre pieced together a 10-1 spurt and DeAndre Monroe's dunk put the visitors in the lead at 55-54 with 10:34 to play.

Wilkes Barre extended the margin to eight points following a layup from David Rogers; however, the Lions battled back, scoring 12-straight points in a span of just 2:25. Pat Gallagher (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown) started the surge with a three-point play and Spencer followed with a bucket before Marcus Turner (Claymont, Del./Chichester) knocked down a triple to knot the score at 64-64.

17 seconds later, Turner converted a steal by James Fisher (Philadelphia, Pa./Upper Darby) into a layup on the offensive end, giving Brandywine the lead, while Fisher completed the run with another steal and fast-break lay in.

Turner's free throw with 2:13 left extended the Lions' advantage to seven, but Wilkes Barre responded with eight of the next ten points, including a three-pointer from Christopher Cantine with 28 ticks remaining as Brandywine's lead shrank to one point.

After two missed free throws from the Lions, Brandywine grabbed a Wilkes Barre turnover, forcing the visitors to foul once again. Sanchez sank 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to hand the Lions a two-point lead and Tyler Wells' three-point attempt at the buzzer rang off the rim.

Spencer was 6-of-10 shooting from the field, while Sanchez drilled 8-of-14 shots and grabbed three steals. Spencer collected four of Brandywine's 17 thefts and pulled down eight rebounds. All nine of Gallagher's points came in the second half, while Turner contributed eight points.

The Lions forced 22 Wilkes Barre turnovers and shot over 48 percent (29-60) from the field. Brandywine also knocked down 6-of-12 three-point attempts, including 3-of-3 marksmanship by Spencer.

Colton Lewis produced 20 points for Wilkes Barre, while Cantine added 19 points and seven boards.

Brandywine (3-12, 2-5 PSUAC) travels to Penn State Beaver on Friday (8:00 pm) for its first of two games in Pittsburgh this weekend.