Brandywine Falls In Final Game Before Break

MEDIA, Pa. -- The Penn State Brandywine men's basketball team dropped its final game before the holiday break, falling 94-62, at home against Gwynedd Mercy on Thursday night.

The Griffins stormed out to a 28-10 lead less than 10 minutes into the game, but Brandywine fought back to within four by scoring 14-straight points during a span of 6:11.

A.J. Dreger (Newtown Square, Pa./Bonner-Prendie) got the scoring run started with a triple and after a Colin Hockenbrock (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) free throw, Javon Nelson (Philadelphia, Pa./String Theory) added a three-pointer to pull Brandywine within nine. Olayinka Itabiyi (Chester, Pa./Chester) added a basket, while Ahmen Cleveland (Philadelphia, Pa./Freire Charter) buried a triple at the 4:41 mark to cap the surge.

However, the Lions' momentum was short-lived as Gwynedd Mercy answered with 17 of the half's final 21 points to lead 45-28 at the break.

The Griffins opened the second period with another 17-4 spurt to put the game away.

Hockenbrock flirted with a triple-double, notching eight points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Jamar Wright (Wilmington, Del./Conrad School of Science) knocked down five second-half three-pointers, scoring all of his career-high 21 points during the final 20 minutes.

Dreger canned a trio of triples en route to nine points, while Jaden Kelly (Philadelphia, Pa./GAMP) chipped in eight points and four boards and Nelson tallied seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.

Brandywine connected for 11 three-pointers, but the Griffins notched 14 triples and shot 55 percent from the field overall.

Brandywine (3-7, 3-3 PSUAC) will have a three-week break before resuming play Friday, January 12 against Penn State Shenango at 8:00 PM.