Penn State Scranton Men’s Basketball Drops Home Contest to Brandywine

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On Saturday afternoon in the electric city, the Penn State Scranton men's basketball squad fell to conference foe Penn State Brandywine 87-68. This is Scranton's second loss this season to Brandywine, as back on January 13^th they dropped an 82-63 road showdown. Now with the defeat, Scranton is on a five game losing streak and overall record stands at 6-15 and 3-12 in the all-important league play. On a bright note, this was the first of three games in a row where Scranton was participating in 3's for THON, as the money raised for this worthwhile charity helps benefit THON and the Four Diamonds Fund at the Penn State Children's Hospital to assist families who have kids suffering from pediatric cancer.

Brandywine would jump out to a dominant 13 point lead, 42-29, at the halftime break in the action and would never look back, as they seized control of the ball game. In the game's final 20 minutes of play, Scranton was only outscored by six points, 45-39, however, the comeback attempt would fall short, as Brandywine triumphed by 19 points at the final buzzer.

Scranton was led on offense by three double digit scoring performances, as freshman Blake Masker and seniors Matt Dessoye and Melick Lubin set the pace for their ball club. Masker scored a team-high 15 points on an impressive 6-10 shooting from the field, as he connected on 3-5 of his shots from beyond the arc, and added two rebounds and an assist in his stalwart 33 minutes on the floor. Dessoye put up 12 points, two assists, two boards, and two steals on the day. Last but certainly not least, Lubin came off the bench and provided a much needed spark for his squad, as he picked up 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a block in his quality 19 minutes of work. In the contest, Scranton connected on five shots from three point range to go to the 3's for THON charitable endeavor, as senior Savion Saunders and freshman Vincent Talluto each had a three pointer to go along with Masker's three baskets from long range.

Meanwhile, Brandywine also had three players score in double figures in the matinee, as senior Bryce Barrouk, sophomore Colin Hockenbrock, and senior Jordan Graves led the way. Barrouk was stellar all game long, as the big man scored a game-high 32 points on a highly efficient 11-17 shooting from the field and 5-9 from three point land, to go along with grabbing eight rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal in his 31 minutes on the court. Hockenbrock notched 17 points, six steals, four boards, and two assists on the day. Finally, Graves picked up 10 points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal in his 23 minutes of work.

Now head coach Chris Sload and his Penn State Scranton men's basketball team will look to get back in the win column in their next matchup, when they host conference rival Penn State Hazleton this upcoming Thursday, February 10^th, with a 6 pm tip-off. Scranton will be looking to avenge an early season road loss to Hazleton back on November 16^th, when they dropped a 77-72 overtime nail-biter. Meanwhile, head coach Justin Dunbar-Stevens and his Penn State Brandywine squad, who just snapped a mini two game losing streak and are 10-15 overall and 8-6 in league play, will next host Penn State Hazleton this Tuesday, February 8^th, at 8pm.