First half surge vaults Brandywine past Hazleton

Media, Pa. - Sophomore Royce Brathwaite (Pocono Summit, Pa.) lit up the court in the second half with 20 points and sophomore Jordan Singletary (Houston, Tx.) picked up his 10th double-double of the season against Penn State University Athletic Conference opponent Penn State Brandywine (5-13, 4-5 PSUAC), but a 20 point first half deficit, proved too steep a hill to climb for Hazleton. Penn State Brandywine had dropped its last eight contests until they found their stride on their home court Friday night, stopping the skid with a 73-59 victory over the Nittany Lions (3-13, 2-8 PSUAC).

1st Half

A Brathwaite triple had Hazleton within one point of Brandywine five minutes into the action, but a 19-2 run over the next seven minutes and a flurry of offense from Brandywine's Marcus Turner left the Lions trailing 41-21 at halftime. Brandywine shot nearly 47 percent from the field in the half compared to just 25.8 percent for Hazleton, netting five baskets from long range. Hazleton committed 14 first half turnovers as Brandywine pulled away from the Lions. 

2nd Half

Brandywine stretched their advantage to as many as 27 points in the second half before Hazleton was able to make headway in the period. Brathwaite hit three buckets from beyond the arc and found his way to the charity stripe, sinking seven of eight attempts as he and the Lions made a late run. A Gregory DePaolis (Grafton, Ny.) layup cut the lead down to a dozen with 1:18 remaining, but time was not on the Lion's side as Brandywine ran out the clock, ending their eight game losing streak.

Top Performers

Marcus Turner hit three of six shots from beyond the arc to top all Brandywine scorers with 14 points. Terrence Quinn added 11 points and seven rebounds while Kenneth Murphy pulled in a team high nine rebounds and three steals.

Brathwaite tallied 23 points on the evening for the Lions and Singletary notched 16 points and a game high 12 rebounds in the loss. 

Next Up

Hazleton heads to Lehigh University on Saturday to face Penn State Lehigh Valley on the court in Stabler Arena. Tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m.