Beaver pushes past Brandywine in overtime, 71-66

By: Matylda Zamudio

Media, Pa. – The Penn State Beaver men's basketball team came out on top with an overtime win against PSUAC rival Penn State Brandywine on Saturday afternoon, earning the team its second of back-to-back conference matches this weekend.

PSUAC Player of the Week, junior guard John Foster (Austin/Del Valle) led Beaver in scoring, earning a double-double with a game-high 25 points and 13 rebounds followed by freshman forward/center Jeremy Redwine (Merced), who scored 21 points and eight rebounds. PSUAC Player of the Week sophomore forward Andrew Brady (Alliance/Marlington) also earned a double-double for Beaver with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

1st half: Redwine landed Beaver on the board first, hitting an early 3-point jump shot on an assist by freshman guard Keon Butler (Annapolis/Star Severn School), but Beaver fell behind after Brandywine made a 14-4 run to take a 7-point lead (14-7). Brandywine held about a 7-point advantage down to the last two minutes of the first half, but Beaver scored 5 unanswered points in the final eight seconds to cut Brandywine's lead to only 3 points before halftime (36-33). 

2nd half: As the second half began, a quick layup by Brady sparked a 5-point run for Beaver to take the lead away from Brandywine (38-36). The teams went back and forth on lead changes and kept the game within a few points down to the 4:42 mark. But then the Lions scored 6-straight points and a two-possession edge with only 1:43 to go (61-56). However, Brandywine mimicked Beaver's late first-half performance, scoring 5 unanswered points to send the match into overtime (61-61).

OT: Brandywine hoped out ahead with a 3-pointer to start overtime, but Foster answered right back with his own 3-point jumper to tie the game at 64-64. But three foul calls on Brandywine handed Beaver the game, hitting 5-6 from the line and winning the game with a final score of 71-66.

Box Score Highlights: Beaver outshot Brandywine 72.2 percent to 69.2 from the line, hitting 13-18 shots from the charity stripe. Beaver outrebounded Brandywine 38-32 and outscored Brandywine 37-28 on points in the paint.

With today's win against Brandywine, Beaver is now (8-4) in the conference standings with a 12-6 overall season record. The Lions will return for more conference action when they host Penn State New Kensington on Wednesday, Jan. 30. Game time is at 7 p.m.